


Little Surprise

by brightlikeloulou



Series: What brings us together [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Anal Sex, Angst, Breastfeeding, C-Section, Child Abuse, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mpreg, Parenthood, Pregnancy, Younger Daryl & Jesus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2019-10-30 05:43:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 43,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17822981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightlikeloulou/pseuds/brightlikeloulou
Summary: Daryl was the first Dixon in many generations to graduate High School, but he definitely wasn't the first to get knocked up.Or - Three weeks after Daryl graduated High School, he found out he was pregnant with his longtime crush's baby, who he'd drunkenly fucked at the senior graduation party.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay... yeah, so this happened. 
> 
> I've never written any form of Mpreg before, but I've read and enjoyed a fair few fics that included it. This idea came to me a couple of days ago, and it has refused to leave, so I finally gave in and wrote it. 
> 
> I know Mpreg is not everyone's cup of tea, and that's fine! All I ask is that if you don't like it, just don't read it, I'd love to only get positive feedback on this and not negative. I'm quite nervous about uploading this fic. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy lovelies! Xx

"No," Daryl whispered.

His heart felt like it was almost thumping out of his chest, the lump in his throat was close to being unbearable, and his stomach swirled with uncontrollable nerves.

"No," He repeated, but it was no use. The pregnancy test that he held in his shaking hand had two little pink lines that stared up at him. He checked the other three that were scattered on the mattress beside him and found that they all matched. There was no denying it. He was pregnant.

It wasn't all that common for men to be able to become pregnant, but it wasn't exactly rare either. It was usually determined at birth whether they could or not. Daryl knew that it was one of the reasons his father treated him harsher than he did to Merle.

"Shit!" He hissed, throwing the test aside and standing up from his mattress, his breath quickening as he began to pace his small bedroom, tugging at his hair as he did.

He was pregnant, he got knocked up. His father would kill him for fucking another guy.

What was he going to do? Did he want the baby? Would Paul?

"Fuck!" He cried out, and he couldn't stop the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

 

* * *

  

_"I've always thought you were cute," Paul said as his lips began planting kisses down Daryl's neck._

_Daryl swallowed thickly and tilted his head to the side for Paul to have more room, "Yeah?" He asked, and then winced at how awkward he sounded._

_Paul chuckled against the flesh of his neck, and then nipped it before pulling back to look at him, and the intensity of the boy's blue-green eyes almost had Daryl weak in the knees._

_"Yeah," He said, one hand reaching up and cupping Daryl's jaw, and Daryl knew that he was looking at the purple bruise that decorated it. Paul didn't say anything, just leaned forward and kissed him again._

_The kiss only took seconds to deepen, and just minutes later, Paul was leading Daryl through the Greene's house and up the stairs to a bedroom._

 

* * *

 

Daryl woke up early the next morning, wincing at the pounding in his head and the snot that had dried on the side of his face. He groaned as he sat up and attempted to rub it away. His back ached from his mattress, as it usually did because after all, his bed was quite literally a ratty old mattress that was easily a decade old that sat on the floor.

He had passed out the previous night after bawling his eyes out for several long hours, hoping that his father would stay out wherever the hell he was because Daryl couldn't deal with him that night. Or, preferably, any night.

He ran his hands through his greasy hair and looked around the rest of his room. It was dimly lit from what little sunlight could get through the tiny single window, the carpet was stained, old books were scattered on the floor because Daryl still hadn't cleaned them up from a couple of nights previous when his father had come into the room and tossed them everywhere in one of his fits of rage.

His crossbow, one of the few possessions of his that he actually cared about, was carefully placed on his rickety desk, on top of his old high school books. After looking at the desk for a moment, he suddenly remembered the pregnancy tests that he had stashed in there the previous night.

Daryl had been having the symptoms of pregnancy for about a week before he finally decided that he needed to take a pregnancy test. He had put on a large over-sized hoodie that had big pockets and then walked from his shitty house into town where the pharmacy was. He, of course, couldn't be seen buying pregnancy tests, so he grabbed a pack of Tylenol and purchased it, and then stole the four boxes of pregnancy tests on his way out of the small store.

He sighed heavily as he pulled the drawer open and pushed a couple of shirts out of the way until the white tests were revealed to him, eight pink lines in total.

He picked all of them up and decided that he needed to hide them better because his father had gone through his drawers before when he was out of cigarettes and looking for Daryl's or didn't have any clean clothes and was meeting a woman.

He decided that the safest place would be the spot in the corner of his room, under the head of his bed, where the carpet had peeled back, and there was a loose floorboard. He held the tests tightly in his hand as he got down on his stomach and then crawled under his bed.

He pulled the floorboard back and placed the tests in the hole. The tests joined the old Polaroid photo of him and Merle when they were younger, a watch that had been his mother's before she died, the pack of Tylenol, and his pencil case that he kept all of his saved money in that he didn't have to give to his father. He looked at both the watch and photo for a few moments before putting the floorboard back in its place and crawling back out from under the bed.

He stood up quickly, and almost immediately regretted it. His stomach swirled angrily, and he could feel the bile rising in his throat, he spun on his heels as quickly he could and sprinted out of his bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom, shoving the door open and then falling to the ground in front of the toilet. Within seconds, he was emptying the contents of his stomach into the porcelain bowl.

The sound of his vomiting was interrupted by a heavy body falling against the doorway, and a chill spread down Daryl's back. He wanted to stand up, so his back wasn't exposed, but if he did, his vomit would projectile all over his father, which would end in him getting a beating.

"The fuck happened to you?" His father grunted, his voice permanently raspy from all the smoking and drinking he had done during his lifetime.

Daryl wiped his mouth and looked over his shoulder at him, "Dunno," He replied quietly.

Will hummed softly, blue eyes identical to his own staring at him suspiciously, "You better not have touched my drinks," He growled after a few moments.

Daryl immediately shook his head, fear building within him, "I swear I didn't. Just coming down with something," He told him, desperate for his father to believe him.

Will glared at him for a few moments longer, and then nodded his head, "A'ight, you best not give it to me then. I'm going out tonight,"

Daryl nodded in understanding as his stomach swirled again, and he forced to return his face to the toiler as he vomited again.

He heard his father laugh at him, followed by his heavy boots thudding against the wooden floor of the hallway.

 

* * *

  

Daryl felt relief wash over him as he stepped out of the mechanic's and back onto the street. He felt utterly exhausted, and sure working on cars was always strenuous, but today it had particularly taken it out of him.

It hadn't been that bad though, for working all day had taken his mind off the fact that he was pregnant. But now, he was finished, and he needed to get his head together.

Remembering the seat on the sidewalk just a bit up the street, he crossed his arms over his chest and began making his way to it. He kept his head down, so he didn't have to look at anyone that he passed on the street, though he did recognize the voice of one of the town's gossips as she talked on the phone. He thinks that back in the day she had been a friend of his mother's.

He sighed as he reached the bench and sat down. The peeling paint was an ugly green, and it wasn't very comfortable, but it was better than being on his feet.

He closed his eyes and took several moments to just take deep breaths and relax. His peace was interrupted by the sound of a child giggling and squealing, he opened his eyes and looked out in front of him. His gaze settled on the small boy on the other side of the road, he was shouting back at his father who chased after him with a giant smile on his face, the two of them appeared to be playing some sort of game.

He watched them until they had turned the corner and were out of sight. He had one of those in his stomach, well a much smaller one, but still the same.

Remembering the large smile on the father's face, he knew that he couldn't keep the baby from Paul. Whether he decided to keep the baby or have an abortion, he deserved to know what was happening.

The dilemma was that Daryl didn't have Paul's phone number, and he also had no idea where the boy lived, so he couldn't just rock up to his house, and with school over, he couldn't find Paul after Math class and ask to speak with him.

He thought about the predicament for a few minutes, before pulling his very old, and very shit phone from his jumpsuit's pocket. He opened it and began searching through his contacts. He remembered that earlier that year, he had been partnered with Paul's best friend Maggie for a science project, and the two had exchanged phone numbers so they could arrange a time to meet up at the library in town and update each other on where they were up to on the work.

He desperately hoped that Maggie hadn't changed her number in the past couple of months and clicked on her contact.

He bit at the skin around his thumb and tapped his boot covered foot against the ground as he thought of what to say, the little keyboard on his phone staring up at him. It could have been ten minutes before he eventually sent her the message.

 _ **Daryl 4:17pm:** _  
_Hi Maggie, it's Daryl. Could you send me Paul's number? I have something of his from the party._

And it was true, he did have something of Paul's that he had gotten that night at the party, but Maggie would probably just think that it was his wallet or something along those lines, not his damn unborn baby. Daryl let out a groan and rubbed his hands over his face as he waited for a reply.

The reply came a few minutes later, his phone dinging to alert him of its arrival.

 _ **Maggie 4:20pm** _  
_Yeah, of course. Hold on a sec._

Just a few moments later, she sent Paul's contact through to him, and he immediately saved it to his own contacts before thanking her and then creating a new message to Paul. His heart pounded in his chest as he typed and sent the message, and then waited for Paul's reply.

It took ten, agonizing minutes for Paul to reply.

 **_Daryl 4:24pm_ **  
_Paul, it's Daryl. Maggie gave me your number. Are you in town? I need to talk to you._

 ** _Paul 4:34pm_**  
_Just finished my shift at Bobbie's. I can get a table and wait for you?_

Daryl took a deep breath as he read the message, the first part was done. He sent a reply to Paul saying he'd be there in ten minutes and for him to get a private booth, he then forced himself to stand up from the bench and beginning walking towards the diner where Paul worked a few streets over.

 

* * *

  

Daryl's heart felt like it would pound out of his chest as he pushed open the glass door and stepped into the diner, the little bell above him ringing.

He swallowed thickly as he came to a stop to look around the booths and tables for Paul. It took a few moments, but he eventually spotted him at the very end of a row of booths, and up against the windows. The back of his head was to him, but Daryl recognized him by the long chestnut hair.

Seeing that hair reminded him of how he had desperately grasped the strands in his fingers a few weeks previous when he had lost his virginity to, and ultimately, been impregnated by Paul.

He cleared his throat and told himself to get it together as he forced himself to start walking again, and he reached the booth far too quickly for his liking. He sat himself down on the leather seat opposite Paul and looked down at his lap where he was nervously fiddling with his fingers.

"Hi," Paul greeted him.

Daryl forced himself to look up and was met with Paul smiling sweetly at him and his pretty blue-green eyes looking at him intently. His long hair fell down his shoulders and onto his white t-shirt, and a beard that he could somehow grow at eighteen covered his jaw. That beard also brought back memories that Daryl forced to the back of his mind.

Daryl was about to reply when a waitress appeared beside their table and placed two large glasses down in front of them, "There we go, two caramel thick shakes," She said, and after looking at her, Daryl realized it was Maggie's little sister, Beth.

"Thank you, Beth," Paul replied, and Daryl watched as he gave the younger girl a smile, she smiled back, and then spun on her heel and headed off again. Paul took a sip of his drink and smiled at him, "I felt like a thick shake, and I figured it would be rude not to get one for you too. If you don't like caramel, we can swap it," He said.

Daryl blinked at him for a few moments, and then cleared his throat, "Thanks," He said and wrapped his hand around the cold glass of his drink, and he took a sip of the drink, finding it deliciously sweet.

"So, what's up? Maggie said you had something of mine, but I suspect that was a cover-up as you seemed pretty serious when you texted me," Paul said after it became clear that Daryl wasn't going to start up the conversation.

Daryl swallowed his mouthful and nervously tapped his fingertips against the surface of the table, "Yeah… I, uh," he nervously trailed off, desperately trying to think of what the best way to say it would be.

Daryl looked at Paul again and found the boy was smiling gently at him. The two of them weren't exactly friends, but they did speak to each other occasionally at school as they used to have a few classes together, they had even smoked together a couple of times behind the science building.

Paul seemed to be a lot like Daryl, he didn't make friends easily, Maggie seemed to be the only person he was close to. Daryl also knew that the boy lived in a group home as he was in the care of the system, and he'd heard plenty of other stories about Paul around the school. Apparently, he was a ninja of some sort as he knew martial arts, he got in a lot of fights with other kids, and millions of stories as to why he didn't have parents.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked a few moments later, his brows furrowed and a frown on his face.

Daryl sipped at his drink a few more times, he then closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before he forced himself to meet the other boy's eyes, he looked around to make sure there was no-one around their booth, "I'm pregnant," He whispered.

It was so quiet, but he knew Paul had heard him because the boy's mouth had parted, and his facial expression was frozen.

Daryl looked away from Paul again and back down at his hands, nervously sipping at his thick shake.

"You're pregnant?" The long-haired boy finally said after an excruciatingly long time, Daryl nodded, "Is it mine?" He then asked, and his voice gave away that he already knew the answer.

Daryl met his eyes again, "Yeah, it's yours," he confirmed.

"You're sure?"

Daryl rolled his eyes a little, "I took four pregnancy tests, they were all positive, and I've had the symptoms. As for it being yours, I was a virgin before you fucked me, so yeah, I'm sure," He replied.

Paul nodded licking his lips and then having some of his thick shake, and Daryl could hear that he was nervously tapping his foot against the floor.

They were both silent for a few more moments, and Daryl didn't mind, he was content to let Paul process.

"So, you're about three weeks then?" Paul asked, finally looking him in the eye again.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah, the graduation party, that was about three weeks ago," He said.

"Are you keeping it?" was Paul's next question.

Daryl chewed at the inside of his cheek, glancing out the window at the parked car for a few moments, "I don't know yet," He admitted after a few moments.

"Okay, that's okay," Paul replied, visibly taking a few deep breaths before rubbing both hands over his face, "I wore a condom," he said.

Daryl sighed and nodded, that bit had confused him too, "Yeah, I know. But, they ain't a hundred percent, and we were both so drunk it might have split, and we didn't notice," he offered up the two theories that he had.

"Yeah, both possible," Paul mumbled.

They both went quiet again, for several minutes this time, the awkwardness hanging thick in the air between them.

"Your dad hits you, doesn't he?" Paul eventually said, and the question took Daryl so much by surprise, that he choked a little on his drink.

He looked at Paul, found that he had a frown on his face again, and his eyes looked sad.

"Yeah," Daryl replied, shamefully looking down at his lap as his cheeks heated up.

"Maggie's going to Richmond for college in two weeks, and I'm going with her. We've just settled on an apartment. Maggie's dad is helping her financially, and I have savings that can tie me over until I get a job up there. Come with us," Paul told him, and Daryl was once again taken by surprise, "It wouldn't be safe for you to be around your dad, it doesn't matter what you decide. He'd eventually find out you were pregnant, or that you'd had an abortion,"

"Neither of them will end well," Daryl said and then shook his head as he frowned, "What am I to you if I get an abortion? There'd be no reason for me to go with you without the kid,"

"Your own safety is a reason," Paul answered almost immediately, his voice even as his gorgeous eyes bore into Daryl's own.

Daryl swallowed thickly as he took in Paul's words, staring the boy right in the eye as he did.

"I ain't deciding right now," Daryl replied after a while, and he meant it, he had too much to think about right now and he couldn't make a decision that big without letting it mull over in his head for a while.

"I don't expect you to," Paul replied, smiling at him for the first several minutes, and it immediately made Daryl feel a bit better.

"Okay," Daryl said quietly, swirling his curly straw through his drink awkwardly, "Thanks for not… I dunno, running out screaming or whatever," he mumbled.

Paul chuckled lightly, "No worries," He replied.

They both stayed in the diner until they finished their thick shakes, Paul then insisted on paying for Daryl's drink and his own since he had ordered them. Once they got outside the diner, they came to the agreement that Daryl would message Paul when he had thought things over, and then they would arrange to meet up again.

They went their separate ways, and Daryl's head was a stormy mess of thoughts as he walked himself back home.


	2. Chapter 2

The wind was so strong, that it howled. Leaves and branches scattered along the scrappy lawn behind the house, and it caused Daryl's hair to slap against his face.

He was sat in one of the old camper chairs that sat around a fire pit, it was where his father and his friends liked to drink whenever they came around. It was late afternoon, and Daryl's day off, which was unfortunate for him because he was trying to pick up as many shifts as possible. He had always wanted to get away from the tiny Georgian town that he resided in, move somewhere away from his father, and for that, he needed a lot of money, especially now that he was pregnant. He knew an abortion would cost him around four hundred bucks, give or take, which would make a bit of a dent in his savings, or if he kept the baby, that dent would become much larger.

Daryl's savings weren't amazingly impressive, but they were okay. He made about two-hundred and thirty bucks a week, but he had to give over one hundred of it to his father, who used it to pay for drugs, alcohol, or prostitutes.

He'd been working at the mechanic's for about a year and a half, and his pencil case of savings, held about three thousand dollars. He knew that Paul had been working at the diner for around two years, and he had mentioned that he had savings. So, if Paul decided to stick around if Daryl went through with the pregnancy, which seemed to be the case since Paul had immediately invited him to move to Richmond with him and Maggie, the financial stress wouldn't be solely on him. He wondered that if he decided to get an abortion, if Paul would go halves on the price of the procedure with him. It was his dick that got him knocked up after all.

It wasn't like Daryl blamed Paul for getting him pregnant, not at all. They were both drunk and they had both wanted it. Daryl remembered Paul pausing right before the interesting part and rolling on a condom, so it wasn't like they were stupid in the sense of not using protection. It just happened, and they couldn't go back and change it now.

Daryl just wished that he had a damn friend to talk to.

His mind spiraled further, like there was little dollar signs in front of his eyes.

He figured that maybe, providing he got a job straight away, and was ridiculously tight with his budgets, he might be okay.

He spiraled for a few more minutes, before groaning at himself and standing up from the uncomfortable chair, well, he was just uncomfortable in general. He didn't know a lot about pregnancy being honest, so after work the previous day, he had gone to the library as it had free Wifi, and went onto one of the most private computers, and he researched as much as he could in the hour he had before it closed.

He realized that he had been having more symptoms than just throwing up several times a day. His lower back ached, and he'd been fatigued.

He rubbed at his back as he walked back to the house, up the steps and through the back door. He closed the screen door behind him quietly, not wanting to wake his father who was passed out in the living room on his favorite couch, a sports game that he probably had bets on playing on TV.

Daryl walked through the house and to his tiny bedroom as quietly as he could. He closed the door and locked it before beginning to strip himself of his clothes. Remaining in just his boxers, he climbed onto his bed and laid down on his side, his back facing the door as he closed his eyes and pulled the covers up and over his body.

He didn't succeed in getting to sleep quickly like he had hoped. His mind turned to the unborn baby in his stomach, and he knew that he needed to make a decision. It had already been a week since he had spoken to Paul, meaning there was a week before the three of them moved to Richmond.

Daryl had already decided that he'd be stupid not to take Paul up on the opportunity on going to Richmond with him and Maggie. He of course wouldn't tell his father where he was going, he'd just leave behind a note saying that he had left, and then sneak out. His father would kill him if he tried to leave.

He was yet to tell Paul that he'd like to take him up on his offer, because when they eventually meet up again, he'd like to make sure that Paul and Maggie would be completely okay with it, that Paul hadn't said it as a spirit of the moment thing.

Thinking of Maggie, made Daryl wonder if Paul had told her that he was pregnant. Daryl definitely did not want people to know that he was, but he'd be okay with Maggie being an exception considering that she was Paul's best friend, and possibly his future roommate. He then suddenly thought, that he had no idea if Maggie would even be okay with living with a baby if they still shared the apartment after roughly eight more months.

That set his train of thought down the track to him actually having the baby.

He knew it would be hard, physically and emotionally on him, emotionally on Paul. Financially, too, it's not like either of them would find jobs with amazing incomes since they were both only eighteen and didn't have college degrees. Then there was of course actually raising the child, learning how to be a good parent, something Daryl didn't know he could be considering both of his parents were awful, but what he did know, was that he would try his absolute best. He knew that he would fucking love his child with everything that he had in him.

He sighed heavily and reached up with his hands and rubbed them over his face.

He fell asleep a few hours later.

 

* * *

 

It was still windy the next day when Daryl stepped out of the mechanic's, it was six pm as it was a weekday, not a weekend.

He walked a few meters down the street, away from the building and then came to a stop again, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

He opened up Paul's contact, and sent him a message, and it didn't take long for him to get a reply.

**_Daryl 6:03pm:_ **   
_Can we meet up? I'm in town._

**_Paul 6:05pm:_ **   
_Yeah. I'm at the group home, I can meet you outside. Need directions?_

Daryl sighed heavily as he replied back to Paul, and within minutes, he was following Paul's directions to a few streets over to where the boy had lived since he arrived in the small town two years previous.

Daryl knew it was the building as soon as he saw it. It was large, two stories tall, and made of red brick with metal fence posts surrounding the front of it. There were various toys scattered across the front lawn.

He sighed when he didn't see Paul anywhere out the front of the home, so he pulled out his phone again and sent him a message to let him know he was there. He leaned against the fence as he waited.

Ten minutes passed, and he hadn't got a reply from Paul, and he hadn't come out of the house either. So, he spent a few moments nervously nibbling at the dead skin around his thumb before telling himself to get it together and go knock on the door.

After unlocking the gate, he stepped onto front porch and knocked on the large wooden door, and then rang the doorbell when he saw the button a few moments later. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his mechanic's jumpsuit as he waited. It took almost a minute, but the door did open.

Inside the doorway, stood a little girl with dark brown hair that reached her shoulders. She looked to be around eight years old.

"Hi," Daryl greeted her, swallowing thickly.

"Hello," The little girl replied, "Who are you?"

Daryl paused for a moment as he wondered how to reply, "I'm Daryl, one of Paul's friends," he told her, "I was wondering if he was home?" he added a couple of seconds later.

The girl looked at him for a few moments, and then turned and stepped back into the house, "Okay," She said, and Daryl followed her inside of the house, already finding it to be quite messy as he looked around the hallway, "I'm Riley," She told him as she began leading him down the hallway.

Daryl smiled a little, "Nice to meet you, Riley," He said.

Riley smiled at him in reply, and then turned a corner in the hallway, "Paul's in here," She informed him, and then moments later, they stepped into a kitchen.

Daryl looked around; it was an absolute mess, random crap and food everywhere. He noticed that Paul was stood in front of the oven, serving out chicken nuggets onto a boy's plate, and there was several other children who already meals and were sat at the dining table, and breakfast bar.

"Paul, your friend is here," Riley said and then went to sit at the spare spot at the dining table.

Daryl smiled when Paul looked over his shoulder at him, "Hi, Daryl," He greeted him, and then shooed the boy off to join the other kids, "I'm sorry," Paul said as he approached them, taking Daryl's hand and pulling him out of the kitchen and back into the hallway.

"What happened?" Daryl asked.

Paul shook his head, "Tracy, the woman who runs this place, had to run out last minute to get diapers or something, and left me with all of the kids and their half-cooked dinner," He explained, looking undeniable frustrated.

"Don't worry about it, shit happens," Daryl grunted, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall beside him, his gaze falling to his feet.

Paul hummed and gave him a sad smile, "I can't leave the kids on their own, but Tracy should only be a few minutes away," he told him.

"It's okay, I can wait," He replied, "Where can we talk when she gets here?" he then asked.

"There's a café across the street, we could go get dinner? It's cheap but good," Paul offered, quirking a brow at him.

Daryl nodded, he hadn't gone hunting in a few days, so the café was probably the only way he'd be eating dinner that night.

"I can go over now and get us a table?" Daryl said, he was once again exhausted after his day of work and he wanted to get back to the house and go to sleep.

"Yeah, that would be good. Do you want to order too? I know my order," He replied, smiling at him and then peaking his head into the kitchen to check on the kids.

Daryl quickly agreed to that too because he was starving.

 

* * *

 

 

After Paul told him his order, Daryl left the group home and crossed the street to the café.

The glass door dinged as he opened it, and he was greeted with the pleasant smell of coffee and cake. There was no booths like the diner Paul worked at, but there was an empty two seat table at the other end of the room, and Daryl immediately made a beeline for it.

It was a cute table he guessed as he sat down. The table and chairs were painted white, and a checkered pink table cloth was draped over it. A little basket with yellow flowers sat in the middle of the table, and a soft blue cushion that he very much appreciated was under his ass.

He had barely had time to look at the menu before a waitress appeared, she was a little bit older of a woman, and she smiled sweetly at him, "Hiya, what can I get for you?" she asked him, holding a small notepad and pen in her hand.

"A cheeseburger, with a side of curly fries and sweet chili sauce," He said, ordering Paul's first, "and a chicken wrap,"

The woman nodded and scribbled his order down, "And what would you like to drink? Water is free,"

"Water," He replied immediately, if it was free that was definitely what he was going for, and if Paul wanted something else, he could just order it when he got here, "Two glasses please," He added a moment later.

The woman tucked her notepad back under her arm and smiled at him, "Alright, that won't be too long. Let me know if you want anything else," She told him, and he nodded in reply before she spun on her heel and headed off.

Daryl sat by himself for ten minutes, letting his mind wander, before Paul showed up, sitting down in the chair opposite him with a heavy sigh as he tied his hair into a knot.

"I am sorry about that," He said.

Daryl shook his head and took a sip of his water that the waitress had brought for him, "Stop stressin' about it, Paul," He grunted.

Paul's lips twitched in a smile, "Okay," He replied, "Did you get everything ordered okay?"

Daryl nodded, "Yeah, I don't think it'll take much longer," He told him.

"What did you order?" Paul asked, obviously easing them into the serious conversation they would soon be having.

"Chicken wrap,"

"Good choice,"

Daryl hummed, and they were interrupted by their waitress appearing with their meals, "Alright, who's the burger?" She asked, and then placed the plate down in front of Paul when he lifted his finger, "I hope you enjoy," She said, still smiling as she gave Daryl his meal and then headed off once again.

Daryl immediately wrapped a hand around his wrap, and took a massive bite out of it, quickly deciding that it was damn good for only three bucks. It had chicken, lettuce, cheese, tomato, and mayo, and it just tasted absolutely fantastic.

Paul did the same with his burger, and they were both quiet for several minutes as they ate before Paul was the one to finally speak up.

"So," He began, dipping a fry into his sauce, "How have things been?" He asked, blue-green eyes curious.

Daryl shrugged, wiping some stray mayo from the corner of his mouth, "Okay, I guess. I'm throwing up at least three times a day, fucking terrified that my dad is somehow going to figure it out," he said, dropping his voice to a quieter tone as there was a few other people in the café.

Paul nodded, looking sympathetic, "I'm sorry, that must suck," He said, and Daryl shrugged, "So… have you thought about what we talked about last week?" He finally asked, picking up his burger and having another burger.

Daryl nodded, "Going with you to Richmond… I want to do that. I want to get out of here, away from my dad and everything else here that's shitty. I just… I don't wanna be imposing, I don't want to interrupt your life plans, or bother Maggie while she's tryin' to get a degree,"

Paul looked at him for a few moments, appearing to be pondering his words before speaking, "Daryl," He finally said, matching Daryl's quiet tone, "So far, my life plans go as far as moving to Richmond and getting a job. You're not disrupting them. You're adding to them more than anything, and I'm okay with that," He said, and looked around the café for a moment before leaning closer across the table, "You're pregnant with my child, Daryl, I'm not the kind of person who'd scoff at you and tell you to deal with it yourself. That baby is just as much my responsibility as it is yours, and while that may be absolutely terrifying, it's the truth,"

Daryl couldn't meet Paul's eyes as he spoke, but he took in every word the boy said, nervously nipping at his thumb as he did. He swallowed thickly and was quiet for a few moments as he processed, and Paul didn't push him, "What about Maggie?" He finally asked softly, finally looking up again.

Paul smiled, a sweet, gentle smile, "I hope you don't mind, but I did tell her about our situation. While shocked at first, she's been nothing but supportive, and she insists that she would not be upset at all if you joined us in Richmond. In fact, she said she'd like you to, she… she hates your father,"

"Doesn't everyone?" Daryl mumbled, and Paul chuckled softly.

"Daryl, I really want you to come with us. I know that we barely know each other, that you barely know Maggie, but we both know that you're a good person, that you deserve better than to be stuck here. You deserve to have the same bloody chance we have,"

Daryl didn't reply, staring down at his half-eaten wrap as he desperately tried to blink away the tears that stung at his eyes. It had been a long time since someone had said something like that to him, and it meant quite a lot to hear it. He could feel the lump in his throat thickening, and unless he wanted snot to drip out of his nose and onto his wrap, he had to sniffle.

"Are you crying?" Paul quickly asked.

"Fuck you, I'm pregnant," Daryl immediately defended himself even though he knew that that wasn't the reason for his tears. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he sniffled a couple more times and wiped furiously at his eyes and nose.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm not judging you or anything of the sort," He said softly, and Daryl looked up at him, he found that he looked concerned, but still like he was telling the truth.

Daryl nodded once, and then tore his eyes from him again, deciding that he needed more food he reached for his wrap and bit a large mouthful off it. The chicken was no longer hot, but it still tasted just as good.

Paul allowed him to take a few minutes to compose himself, probably also needing to the same, and they finished off their dinner in silence.

"So," Paul eventually said, meeting Daryl's eyes, "The other big thing, what are you thinking?" He asked.

Daryl chewed at the inside of his cheek nervously, "I think I'm gonna keep it," He told him.

He'd come to the decision the previous night. He wasn't entirely sure what had made him do so, whether it was the fact that he had always been so unbelievably determined to try and be better than his father. It could have been that he wanted something that he knew would love him, and that he could also love unconditionally because he had never properly felt love. It could have been that Daryl wanted a new start.

But, what definitely played a strong part in his decision, was when he went into the kitchen to get a glass of water in the middle of night and accidently bumped his stomach into the counter, and he had said 'sorry baby' after he did. Because he had finally properly acknowledged that there was a child inside of him.

Daryl looked at Paul's face, desperate to see what the boy was thinking, but he didn't know.

Paul smiled softly at him, "Okay," He whispered, "It's going to be okay, it's okay,"

 


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl rolled over with a groan when he felt his phone vibrate against the mattress.

It was a few hours after he had gotten home from having dinner with Paul, just after ten o'clock and he was planning on going to sleep before his phone rudely interrupted him.

He shoved his hand under his tatty pillow and dug around until his fingers found purchase on the old phone. He pulled it out and squinted at the bright light that shone in his eyes as he unlocked it. He discovered that he had a message from Paul.

 _ **Paul 10:14pm** _  
_Hey. I told Maggie about what we talked about today, and she's excited for you to come with us. She did say that she'll have to tell her dad that you're coming with us and that you're pregnant as he'll be suspicious as to why you're suddenly coming. He'll also want to meet you. Is that okay?_

Though it didn't sound great, as Daryl wanted as little people as possible to know about his pregnancy, but he knew it was necessary as the man was Maggie's father and would obviously be concerned about his daughter's wellbeing.

Daryl had never met Hershel as he hadn't been at the house when Maggie threw the graduation party, but he had seen him around town a few times. The man had even smiled politely at him a couple of times, he seemed like a harmless, old man.

 **_Daryl 10:15pm_ **  
_Okay, that's fair enough. When?_

He sent the message and proceeded to close his eyes again while he waited for Paul to reply, hoping that he wouldn't take long as he very much wanted to get to sleep.

His phone vibrated a few minutes later.

 ** _Paul 10:17pm_**  
_ASAP since we're leaving this Friday. Soonest possible time for you?_

Daryl thought for a few moments before sending his reply back.

 _ **Daryl 10:18pm** _  
_I can do tomorrow after work at six, but I ain't got a way to get out there._

 **_Paul 10:18pm_ **  
_Don't worry about that, I'll be in town getting a couple of things for the apartment, borrowing Maggie's car. I can pick you up from work._

 **_Daryl 10:19pm_ **  
_Okay. I'll see you then. I'm going to sleep now._

 ** _Paul 10:19pm_ **  
_Okay goodnight, sleep well :)_

Daryl smiled a little at his reply and proceeded to tuck his phone back under his pillow. It was little things like that that made Daryl's feelings for the other boy spark.

Funnily enough, Paul was actually behind Daryl accepting that he was gay. The first time that Paul had walked into math class, two years ago when they were both sixteen, Daryl was taken back. Paul wore ripped jeans, boots and a t-shirt, he had long hair and seemed to wear a facial expression of constantly pissed off.

Daryl had been completely surprised by his feelings at first. He'd had an inkling in the back of his mind that he wasn't straight for a while, he'd never felt attraction towards girls, shrunk away when his father and brother asked how many girls he'd fucked. But boys, he always found himself staring at them too long, his eyes looking at them all over, finding their legs, asses, and crotches. He'd always pushed it to the back of his mind though, never really let himself think about it.

But, then Paul had shown up, and Daryl couldn't deny it any longer. Paul was ridiculously attractive in his eyes, and he reminded him of himself. Paul was quiet and kept to himself, he was only close friends with Maggie, but was still nice to everybody else around him.

He knew that Paul had some sort of story in him too. Daryl had always been good at reading people, and he was able to see that Paul had seen his fair share of shit and been through a lot.

He sighed heavily and got comfortable again, rolling onto his side and settling after he pulled the blankets over his body.

His mind drifted to the baby in his stomach. He'd only known he was pregnant for a week, had only just decided that he wanted to keep the baby, but he figured he was doing okay so far. He already had a small amount of savings, had an apartment lined up to get away from his abusive father, and he and Paul were getting along, and Paul was facing up to his responsibility and being supportive.

He chewed at the inside of his cheek as he slipped his hand beneath the covers, under his shirt, and then placed it over his flat stomach.

His little baby was far too innocent to be around anything that Daryl had been as a child. Daryl would never treat his child the way Will had done to him, he'd be the best possible parent he could be, he knew that much.

"Gonna look after you," He whispered into the darkness of his room, trailing one finger over his skin, "Gonna protect you,"

He fell asleep a while later, his hand remaining over his stomach.

 

* * *

 

Daryl was sat on the same green bench that he had been sitting on the day he told Paul he was pregnant.

The paint was peeling, and it was still uncomfortable.

He'd been waiting for around half an hour, as Paul hadn't quite finished up when Daryl told him that he had finished work. He told Paul not to worry, and that he was happy to wait for him until he showed up, and he wasn't lying, he was perfectly happy to put off meeting Maggie's father for a while longer.

He had just finished his final day of work at the mechanic's and had been given his last paycheck.

His eyes were torn from the concrete sidewalk beneath his feet when he heard the crunching of tires against the loose gravel of the road in front of him. A white Sudan pulled up in front of him, the car was in good condition, but still clearly second hand.

The front window rolled down, and Paul's smiling face was revealed to him, so Daryl stood up from his chair.

"Hi," Paul greeted him, and Daryl waved somewhat awkwardly as he walked around the front of the car to the passenger side door, and he pulled it open and sat down inside of the car, "How are you?" He asked.

Daryl hummed softly as he pulled his seatbelt over his torso and clicked it into place, "Okay, still getting morning sickness," He replied, calling it what it was for the first time.

Paul nodded and pulled back onto the road, "How long is morning sickness supposed to last?" he asked, "Sorry, I don't know a lot about pregnancy," he added a moment later.

Daryl shook his head, "Don't worry, I don't know much about it either. I looked up some stuff on the library the other afternoon when I got off work, but it wasn't much," He explained, thinking that some pregnancy books would be first on his list of purchases when they got to Richmond, "It's different for everyone, but it's usually gone by fourteen weeks,"

"Damn," Paul replied, "Listen, I want to do everything I can to make sure as comfortable as possible," He said, taking his eyes off the road for a second and looking over at him, but Daryl couldn't meet his eyes.

Daryl nodded, and relaxed in his chair, closing his eyes. He jumped a little when he felt a hand on his thigh, and he looked down at Paul's hand, pale skin, and long fingers.

Paul spoke again, "I'm not naive Daryl, and I know you aren't either. This isn't going to be easy, it's going to be incredibly fucking hard, and it's really going to test us," he said, placing his hand back on the wheel and turning onto a new street, "The best thing we can do to try and make it a little easier, be there for each other. Support each other, Communicate when something's wrong, don't let things bottle up. Think of what's best for the baby, because I know that I want what's best, and I'm sure you feel the same,"

Daryl sighed heavily and nodded, meeting Paul's eyes for just a moment, and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"I've got no experience with kids, and I'm scared" Daryl admitted, fiddling with his fingers in his lap, "But it's like you said, I want the best for the baby,"

Paul smiled widely at him, "I think we're going to do just fine," He said, and after a few moments, Daryl nodded in agreement.

 

* * *

 

The sun was just beginning to set as Paul put the car in park outside the Greene's farmhouse.

They both stepped out of the car, Daryl stretching out his sore back when he was on his feet again and hiding a yawn in the crook of his elbow before following Paul up the stairs and to the front door of the farmhouse, some of the old floorboards of the porch squeaking beneath their feet.

Paul didn't knock, simply pushed the screen door open and stepped inside of the house, holding the door open and waiting for Daryl to follow him.

Paul smiled at Daryl as he stepped inside, and then let the door swing closed.

"Come on," Paul said, placing a hand on his lower back and leading him down the hallway.

They entered a living room a few moments later, and Daryl immediately spotted Hershel sat in an armchair with a Bible open in his lap. He looked up when he heard them approach.

"Hi, Hershel," Paul greeted the man cheerfully, a broad smile on his face.

"Hello, son," Hershel replied, smiling back and standing up from his chair, slipping the bible into an empty space on a nearby bookshelf before stepping over to them.

"This is Daryl," Paul said, smiling at Daryl, "Daryl, this is Hershel,"

Daryl smiled shyly and shoved his hands into his pockets, awkwardly glancing around the room.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Daryl," Hershel replied, and Daryl crinkled his nose a little at his choice of words, nobody had ever said it was wonderful to meet him before.

"You too," Daryl said a moment later, forcing himself to look Hershel in the eye and give him a proper smile, trying to tell his raging butterflies to calm down.

Paul cleared his throat, "So, would you like me to stay, or?" He asked, facing Daryl and quirking a brow in question.

Hershel answered him, "I think we'll be okay," He said, flashing Daryl a cheeky grin that relaxed him a little, "Maggie's up in her room, go settled her down she's stressing out,"

Paul chuckled softly and nodded, "Okay, well, Daryl just come find me when you're done," He said, giving him one last smile before leaving the room and moments later, Daryl could hear the man's footsteps climbing the stairs.

"Come on, Daryl. Let's go get something to drink and sit on the back porch," He said petting him on the shoulder as he passed him, then stepping out of the living room and back into the hallway, and Daryl followed after him, feeling more nervous again as Paul had left him on his own.

Hershel poured them both a glass of water, and then encouraged Daryl to follow him again through the house, and they were on the back porch within a few moments.

There was a small glass table surrounded by green painted, steel chairs. Hershel sat down on one seat and then motioned for Daryl to do the same in the one opposite him.

Daryl immediately took a sip of his water, swallowing down the pleasantly cool liquid.

"So," Hershel began, his blue eyes almost seeming to be looking right into Daryl's soul. He seemed like the kind of man who knew what a person was like, within minutes of meeting them, Daryl would bet anything that the old man was full of knowledge.

"So," Daryl mumbled, swirling the water around his glass.

"It seems congratulations are in order since you've decided to keep the baby," Hershel said, and Daryl looked up and found that he had smile beneath his beard.

Daryl nodded, lifting his thumb to his mouth and chewing at the dead skin, smiling around it a little, "Thank you," He murmured, looking out at the farm.

"How are you feeling?" Hershel asked him, his voice gentle and something along the lines of comforting.

Daryl shrugged, "Okay, probably going to get a lot worse as I get further along," He replied.

Hershel chuckled softly, "That is true," He said, "How far along are you?"

"Almost a month by now, I think. I don't know for sure, haven't had an appointment or anything yet,"

Hershel nodded, "I assume that you and Paul plan on finding an OB-GYN when you get to Richmond?" He asked a few moments later.

Daryl nodded, "I mean, we ain't talked about it yet, but yeah, when we get up there we'll starting sorting all of those things out," he answered, immediately making a mental note to look up what an OB-GYN even was.

"How much have you and Paul spoken about?"

Daryl shifted in his seat, crossing one leg over the other and swallowing thickly, "Uh…" He started, and mentally went over everything that he and Paul had talked about, he didn't want Hershel to see him as unfit, "That it's both our responsibilities, and that we both want what's best for the baby, would be the main things," He said, his cheeks flushing angrily.

"Okay. Are you and Paul together?" was his next question.

Daryl shook his head, "No, we're not. We were, uh… drunk when we…" He trailed off, starting to nibble at his thumb again.

Hershel let out a sigh, and Daryl immediately winced in the expectation that he was about to be chewed out, "Daryl, listen to me," Hershel said, and Daryl nodded, but kept his eyes on the greenery, unable to meet the older man's eyes, "I am not judging you. I'm not judging for being pregnant. I am not judging you and Paul for not being together even though you're expecting a child a together. Or that you haven't entirely got everything together just yet. I'd like to help more than anything," Hershel told him, a friendly smile floating onto his mouth again, "Paul is Maggie's best friend, and like a son to me, he's family. Now that you and him are bound together for the rest of your lives through your baby, that makes you family too, Daryl,"

Daryl smiled a genuine smile, and nodded, "Thank you," He said, and desperately tried to blink away the sting in his eyes.

Hershel smiled back, and then stood up from his chair, huffing a little as he did, "Go on, go catch up with the other two," He said, and Daryl nodded, standing up from his chair also and following Hershel back into the house.

"What room?" Daryl asked as they came to a stop near the stairs.

"The last one on the right," Hershel told him, petting his back and then walking back towards the living room where he had been when Daryl and Paul had first arrived.

Daryl made his way up the spiraling wooden staircase, wincing a little at the continuously present ache in his back, and using the arm rail for leverage.

He made his way down the hallway on the second floor of the house until he reached the room Hershel directed him to, the door was closed, but he could hear soft music coming from inside. He stood outside the door for a few moments, deciding whether he should knock or not, he eventually decided that he should and raised his fist and tapped his knuckles against it.

"Come in!" Paul called out, and Daryl did as he was told and pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Hi," He greeted. Paul, who was lounging on the bed comfortably smiled broadly at him, and Maggie who was at a cluttered desk in the corner spun around in her chair.

"How'd it go?" Paul asked as Daryl remained awkwardly standing in the doorway.

"Good," Daryl replied, and then turned his attention to Maggie, "Your dad's a nice guy," He said to her, and she smiled.

"Yeah, he is," She agreed, folding one jean-covered leg over the other, "It's nice to see you again,"

"You too," he replied, smiling shyly.

"Come sit down," Paul then said, petting the bed below him and smiling at him comfortingly as he did.

Daryl did so, and sat on the edge of the mattress, keeping his feet on the ground as he was still wearing his boots. He looked down at the duvet cover beneath him and immediately recognized it from the night of the party. This was where he and Paul had slept together and conceived their child.

His cheeks reddened, and he turned to chew at his thumb, his obvious nervous habit.

They were all quiet for a few moments, and Daryl decided that for once, he should be the one to break the silence. He turned to Maggie, "What're you planning on studying?" He asked.

She smiled softly, "Culinary arts, I'd like to be a chef," She told him.

Daryl smiled back, "I can cook meat, but that's about it," He told her, and she chuckled lightly.

"Well, you and Paul are definitely going to be testing some of my food, so you'll have that to look forward to," She said, "and when you have aversions to certain foods, do let me, and also let me know when you get cravings, I'll be creative," She winked at him.

Paul snorted from his spot on the bed, "Sounds like a plan Mags," He said and reached out with his leg to poke Daryl's thigh with his toes, and simply smirked when Daryl raised his brows in question.

Maggie rolled her eyes at Paul, "Speaking of plans," She said, "We're planning on leaving here about ten am on Friday, and with having breaks and the eight-hour drive, and then possible traffic, it might be around seven at night when we get to Richmond,"

Daryl shrugged, "The time doesn't bother me. My dad is supposed to be away on Friday anyway, so hopefully there won't be any dramas," he replied.

Maggie nodded, "Okay, we can pick you up from your house then," She said, "Paul will drop you back home tonight, so he'll know where to go,"

Paul nodded in agreement and gave Daryl a smile.

"Okay," Daryl said, "What's my cut of the rent?" He then asked.

"The rent in total is five-hundred a month, and me and Paul were doing two-fifty each, but with you, we'd have a cut of about one-sixty each," Maggie explained.

"Deposit?" Daryl then asked.

Paul shook his head, "Don't worry about that, it's already been paid," He said.

Daryl frowned immediately, "I ain't a freeloader, I'll pay my fuckin' share," he snipped.

"Daryl, I wasn't saying that you were," Paul said, and then Maggie cut them both off.

"Daryl, Paul's right, with the deposit already paid it'd be easier just to leave it at that. You can grab the first load of groceries if that makes you feel better, okay?" she offered, her voice calm, and it immediately melted onto him.

Daryl nodded, "Okay," he said and turned his head to look at Paul, and he attempted to give him a soft smile as an apology for his earlier snapping.

Paul smiled back and poked his leg again.

"What about other stuff?" Daryl asked, "You know, stuff you've bought for the apartment together that I'll also use that I owe you," He said.

"Okay," Maggie said, nodding and turning to her desk and grabbing a notebook and a pen, "I understand that you're very determined in paying your share, and that's okay. Just give me a minute to figure it out, okay?" She said, and Daryl nodded.

Daryl turned back to Paul as Maggie began writing, "Are you going back to the group home?" Daryl asked.

Paul shook his head, "No, I moved out officially a couple of days ago, I've been staying here with Maggie, and will until we leave on Friday," He answered.

Daryl nodded in understanding and thought back to his conversation with Hershel for a few moments before he spoke again, "Me and you got a lot we need to do when we get settled," He said.

Paul tilted his head a little, "About the baby?" He asked, sitting up against the pillows and little and pushing some of his long hair away from his face.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah, Doctors appointments and all that. An OB-GYN Hershel said; I don't even know what that means," He mumbled, and rubbed his hands over his face.

Paul's lips quirked in a soft smile, "An Obstetrician-Gynecologist. They specialize in reproductive health, pregnancy, and childbirth," He told him, "I've been doing some research,"

Daryl smiled, "I've only done a little bit at the library, but not any more than that. My phone's shitty, and there's no Wifi at the house,"

"The apartment has Wifi, and I bought a laptop last year for school, you can use it whenever you'd like,"

"Thanks," Daryl replied, feeling incredibly grateful, "I want to buy some books too,"

Paul nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I think there's a bookstore near the apartment, we can check it out," He said.

"Okay," Maggie suddenly said, and they both looked back to her, "So, me and Paul bought the apartment furnished, so most of the stuff we needed was already there. But we did drive up a few weeks ago and buy other bits and pieces and put them in the apartment; cutlery, a TV, bedding, Wifi, some other kitchen stuff, toiletries, ironing board, clothes line, etc. Your share would be about one-fifty,"

"You sure?" Daryl asked, he hated the idea that he wasn't paying his share, that because of his pregnancy he was getting special treatment of some sort.

Maggie nodded, "Yep," she said and placed her notebook and pen back down on her desk, "You can pay whenever," She told him.

"I can pay when you get me from the house," Daryl said immediately, "I have about three grand in savings,"

"Do you have a bank account?" Paul asked.

Daryl shook his head, "No it's all cash in an old pencil case that I hide from my dad in my floor," He answered.

"We'll get you a bank account and a debit card when we get out there," Maggie said to him.

"Okay," Daryl answered, and then stifled a yawn in his elbow, and he blinked his heavy eyes.

Paul chuckled softly, "Come on," He said and stood up from the bed, placing his hand on Daryl's shoulder, "Let's get you home, yeah?" he said, his hand squeezing him nicely.

Daryl nodded, and stood up also, smiling at Maggie, "I'll see you on Friday," He told her.

She smiled back, and it made her look even prettier, "See you Friday, Daryl. I really look forward to it," She said.

"I'll be back soon Maggie," Paul told the girl, and then the two of them left the bedroom.

They made their way down the stairs and back onto the first floor of the house.

They came to a stop at the living room, and Hershel was back in his chair, with a book in his lap again, not the Bible this time.

He looked up when he heard them, and smiled, "I hope to see you soon, Daryl," Hershel told him.

Daryl smiled back softly and nodded, "You will, and thank you," He said.

"Goodnight," Hershel replied, waving at the both of them and they proceeded to leave the house, walking back towards Maggie's car.

 

* * *

 

"Stop here," Daryl said, when they were about one hundred meters away from his driveway, "My dad's home tonight, he can't see you," He said.

Paul nodded, his jaw immediately hardening as he pulled his car over to the side of the road, "So your driveway is the next one for Friday?" He asked, sounding tense.

Daryl nodded and pushed his car door open, stepping out of the car but leaning down so that he can still speak to Paul, "Yeah, Dixon's on the mailbox, and the house looks like it's falling apart, you can't miss it," He answered.

Paul nodded, "Okay," He said, and then glanced up the road before looking back at him, his eyes intense in the dim light, "Please be careful around your dad," He told him softly.

Daryl nodded, "I always am," He replied, and then closed the car door, and moments later Paul waved at him and then drove off, turning around and heading back the way he came.

Daryl sighed and rubbed his hands over his face as he began down the road towards the driveway.

He stepped into the house almost ten minutes later and winced when his father immediately called out to him. It wasn't even nine o'clock, but he had still been hoping that his dad was asleep.

"Get in here!" Will called out from the living room, and Daryl did as he said and made his way through the house to the living room, "Where have you been?" Will slurred once he saw him, obviously already drunk, the entire room smelling of liquor.

"Boss asked me to stay late," He replied quickly, it was usually his excuse.

Will grunted, "You get paid today?" He asked.

Daryl nodded and shoved his hand into the pocket of his mechanic's jumpsuit, careful to only pull out one-fifty, as his father didn't know that he made any more than that, "Extra for the late hours," Daryl said as he handed the notes to his father.

Will nodded and placed the cash down on the table beside his chair, "Alright, get," he then said, and Daryl quickly hurried out of the room.

 

* * *

 

Daryl curled up in his shitty bed after he had showered, closing his eyes and placing a protective arm over his stomach.

"We'll be out of here soon, baby," He whispered, and then promptly fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!  
> * Trigger warning for graphic child abuse & homophobic slurs.

Daryl looked at the bag in front of him, he was in the middle of packing everything he needed when Maggie and Paul picked him up the next morning.

Daryl didn't have a lot to pack, all of his belongings could fit in a single duffle bag. He'd put his pencil case with his money at the very bottom, also putting his mother's watch and the photo of him and Merle inside it. The pregnancy tests went inside the little pocket on the inside of the bag, alongside his wallet, the packet of Tylenol and his phone charger. What clothes he had were folded and placed in the bag then, and his crossbow and books went on top of that. The last thing that went in his bag was the makeshift med-kit.

"Daryl!" His name was suddenly shouted from out in the main area of the house, and Daryl jumped in surprise. His father had left a few hours ago to go out to the bub for the night, and then go on a hunting trip with one of his mates, and Daryl had no idea why he was back home.

Fear immediately spread through his body as he heard his father's heavy footsteps begin stomping down the hall. He didn't know why his father was pissed, but he knew that it was bad for him to come all the way home from in town.

Daryl swallowed thickly and just as he stepped forward to press the lock on his door, it flung open, sending him to the floor and he winced when he landed hard on his ass.

Will towered over him, his face flushed red from anger and the alcohol that he had consumed. His body was almost shaking with anger, and his fists were clenched tightly at his sides, the knuckles on one of his hands already split, showing that he'd obviously already hit someone or something.

Daryl's body began trembling in fear as he stared up at his father, he was still on the ground, and he became very aware of the fact that his room was packed up and he had a duffle bag sat on the bed.

"What is this shit I hear about you quitting your job?" Will slurred, and he sounded absolutely full of rage.

Daryl's stomach immediately dropped, and he swore that he could feel bile rising in his throat.

"Well?" Will screamed.

Daryl had no idea what to say, he didn't know what to do. He went to stand up only for Will to push him back down immediately.

"I ran into your boss, I told him that he should be payin' you more for all the extra hours you do, just for him to fucking say that you quit your job two days ago," Will explained and Daryl could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He hadn't been this scared of his father in a long time.

"I…I- uh," He began, attempting to speak but all that came out was stutters, as hard as he tried, he couldn't form proper words.

Will let out a growl of frustration and grabbed Daryl by the collar of his shirt and yanked him to his feet, and Daryl swallowed the thick lump in his throat as he was forced to look his father in the eye. He had always hated that his eyes were identical to his father's. Daryl looked nothing like his father, except for the eyes.

Will continued to stare at him, and when Daryl didn't say anything, he raised his fist and smashed it right into Daryl's face, and he let out a groan of pain, his knees buckling slightly, but Will held him up.

Pain blossomed across his jaw and nose, and after a few seconds, he could feel the blood dripping out of his nose and down his lips.

"That's my fuckin' money, you fucking worthless piece of shit. Did you fuck up and get fired, and your boss was just covering for you?" Will growled, moving to shove Daryl up against the wall and he wrapped his hands around his throat.

Daryl shook his head immediately and began gasping for air, "No!" He panted, desperately clawing at his father's hands and trying to pull them from his throat.

Will let out a frustrated scream of a noise and threw Daryl to the floor, and delivered a firm kick right to his thigh, and lifted his foot, and was just about to land it down on Daryl's stomach.

Daryl let out a cry and immediately covered his stomach with his arms, "No!" He screamed, his entire body trembling with fear as he met his father's eyes again, and Will immediately stopped because Daryl hadn't protested like that for a long time, not since he was a child, because eventually, through all the years of abuse, he'd learned it was easier not to fight it.

But Daryl wasn't thinking about himself at that moment. He was thinking about his child. His father had spent so many years hurting him, and he wasn't going to let him do the same to his own.

Will squinted at him, staring down at his stomach for several moments before looking in the eye again.

Daryl saw the exact moment it clicked in his father's head. Rage came over the man's face like Daryl had never seen before.

He let out a snarl of a noise and dropped down on top of Daryl and slapped him across the face harshly, "You little fucking slut. You fucking faggot," He screamed and punched him again.

Daryl let out a cry of pain and tried to push his father off him, but it was no use, his father was a big man.

Daryl's hand slapped against the carpet of his floor, and his fingers brushed something hard, and after a few moments, he realized it was the floorboard that he pulled up to access his secret storage hole. He scrambled for a few moments, gasping for air as his father began to choke him, but his fingers finally found purchase on the floorboard, and he moved it until he had a firm grip.

His father wasn't focused on what he was doing, he was too busy trying to kill him.

With everything Daryl had in him, he raised the floorboard and hit his father in the head with it. He didn't hit the man hard enough to knock him out, but enough to make him fall off him and onto the stained carpet.

Panting, and keeping the floorboard in his hand for protection, Daryl sprung to his feet. He spent a second wrapping his hand around the strap of his duffle bag because he needed the money inside of it to be able to provide for his baby.

Daryl jumped over his father who was starting to get back to his feet, and he sprinted out of his bedroom and down the hall, heading for the front door.

He got out of the house and began sprinting down the hundred-meter driveway to get to the main road and cross it to get into the woods and head into town that way.

He had gotten ten meters down the driveway when he heard the front door of his house slam against the wall, and the sound of his father screaming at him met his ears.

He ignored the feeling in his stomach that had him wanting to stop so he could vomit and forced his legs to move faster, and he ran faster than he ever had in his life. His breath came out in heavy pants, and his throat burned, his body ached, and tears of fear and pain poured from his eyes and down his cheeks.

He was just coming to the end of the driveway when he heard a thud, and he looked behind him to find that his father who was about ten meters behind him, had collapsed in the dirt, the alcohol, and his age catching up with him.

Daryl ran to the other side of the road before he stopped. He spun on his heels and looked back to his father who was still in the dirt, panting heavily, and looking a lot calmer than what he had earlier.

Daryl's heart pounded in his chest, and he swallowed thickly, he looked behind his father to the house he had lived in since his mother had died. The house had been falling apart when they had first moved in, and a decade later it was even worse.

The house held nothing but memories of pain, fear, and hatred.

"Daryl!" His father called, and Daryl's eyes snapped to the man, "Don't you ever come back," He growled.

Daryl didn't say anything in reply, just watched the pathetic looking man for a few moments before he turned again and ran into the woods.

 

* * *

 

After walking in the woods for over an hour, Daryl finally came out of the woods near the high school that he had graduated from a month previous. It was late at night, and nobody was around.

Daryl adjusted his grip on the heavy duffel bag and huffed as he walked across the football field and into the parking lot. The light posts were lit and cast a yellow glow around the parking lot, it was creepy and almost looked like something out of a horror movie.

Daryl's hair stood on end as he walked to one of the bus shelters at the front of the school, and he sat down old the cold metal of the bench. He was waited for a monster to jump out of the shadows and grab him, and that monster was his father.

He spent a few minutes pondering his options, and then breathed in shakily as he opened his duffle bag and dug around for his phone.

Once he found it, he pulled it out and unlocked it. He winced when he noticed that it was nearly one am, but he still opened up his contacts and called Paul's number. He knew that the boy would probably be asleep and wouldn't wake up to a text message.

Daryl was hoping that Paul would come and pick him up because he was too scared to stay where he was. He wanted to be somewhere where he knew his father wouldn't find him, and he knew that he and his baby would be safe.

The phone stopped ringing, and Paul's groggy voice suddenly filled his ear, "Daryl, what's wrong?" He asked, sounding concerned but half asleep at the same time.

Daryl took a few deep breaths, "My dad just tried to kill me," He finally said.

There was shuffling on the other sound of the line, and Daryl could hear Paul waking up Maggie, "Daryl, where are you?" he asked, sounding wide awake now.

"I ran. I'm at the high school. He chased me but then let me leave," Daryl replied.

"Well, we're not taking the chance that he hasn't followed you," Paul said immediately, "I'm going to come and get you right now, okay?"

Daryl hummed, and then Maggie spoke, "Daryl are you hurt?" She asked, her voice filled with worry.

"The baby's okay. He didn't get near my stomach," He immediately said, "My head and nose's bleedin', my neck's gonna bruise too,"

There was some chatter between the other two over the line, and then Daryl could make out the sound of Paul walking down the stairs of Maggie's house, "Okay, Daryl you stay right where you are, and try and stay calm. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, Maggie's going to wake up Hershel, and they'll get some stuff ready to clean you up okay?"

"Okay," Daryl said softly, crossing his legs.

"Okay, good," Paul said, "I'm in the car now, and I'll see you soon. You call me back if you need to, okay?"

"Please hurry," Daryl whispered, his fear growing by the minute.

"I will, I promise,"

"See you soon," Daryl said and then hung up the phone.

He drew his legs up to his chest and took a deep breath. Every sound put him on edge, he hadn't been this scared since he was little. His body was trembling, and his mind kept replaying the look in his father's eyes as he tried to kill him. What was possibly the most disturbing, was that Will had figured out that he was pregnant, so he was aware that he was also murdering an unborn baby.

Daryl sighed shakily and tucked a hand under his shirt, rubbing it over his flat stomach, "I told you I'd protect you," He whispered, using his other hand to wipe the tears away from his eyes, "Gonna be out of here in the morning, baby. Never see 'im again, he'll never hurt me again,"

Daryl remained rubbing his stomach until Paul arrived.

He stood up as soon as he saw the headlights and grabbed his duffle bag before speed walking over to the familiar white Sedan and he pulled the passenger side door open and immediately climbed inside, slamming the door closed behind him.

Immediately, he turned to face Paul, who placed both hands on his cheeks softly and looked him right in the eye, "God, I fucking hate him," Paul whispered as he looked at the wounds on Daryl's face. Daryl didn't say anything but relaxed beneath Paul's touch. Paul brushed the pads of his thumbs over his cheekbones and sighed heavily, "Let's get you back to the farm, yeah?" He said.

Daryl nodded eagerly and moved to put on his seatbelt and Paul pulled onto the road again and began driving them in the direction of the farm, holding his hand on Daryl's thigh comfortingly as he drove.

 

* * *

 

They arrived at the farm fifteen minutes later, and Paul got out of the car first and rushed to the passenger side to help Daryl out, carrying his bag for him and holding a protective arm around his lower back, which Daryl found himself very much enjoying and sinking into.

"Hershel and Maggie should be waiting in the kitchen," Paul said as they walked up the porch steps, "Hershel's a vet, so he's good at first aid," He told him.

Daryl nodded, and he was just so exhausted that he couldn't even bring himself to reply, he just wanted to go to sleep.

They walked through the house towards the kitchen where soft chatter could be heard, the only sound in the otherwise silent house. Both Maggie and Hershel turned to look at them, and Daryl was immediately given soft smiles.

His cheeks flushed, and he looked down at the floor, and Paul stepped away from him to place his duffle bag down on the counter.

"Come sit down, son," Hershel said and petted the surface of the breakfast bar stool.

Daryl did as he was told and sat down, resting his palms in his lap and looking down at his boots. He felt a hand on his back and jumped slightly but then calmed when he realized it was just Paul.

After a few moments, Hershel stepped up in front of him and lifted his head by placing to fingers under his chin. Hershel gave him a smile and then began cleaning the blood that had poured from his nose, and from the cut on his forehead.

"Are you hurt anywhere else other than your face and neck?" Hershel asked gently, and Maggie left for a moment to carry Daryl's duffle bag upstairs and check on Beth who had apparently had the flu for the past couple of days.

Daryl shook his head, "He kicked me in the leg a couple of times, but it will just be a bruise, nothing more than that,"

Hershel nodded, and once he had cleaned his face, taped together the cut on his head, "Your nose isn't broken," he said, and Daryl nodded, he had already figured that because his nose ache from being punched, but it didn't hurt as bad as it had the previous times that his father had broken it.

"Figured that," He said softly, appreciating that Paul was still rubbing circles into his lower back, it was calming his nerves.

Maggie appeared back in the room then and leaned against the wall, "Are you going to contact the police?" She asked, and then stepped over to the fridge.

Daryl immediately shook his head, "No. That'll make it worse, we'll be gone tomorrow, and I don't ever have to come back here," He answered.

"Okay," Paul said from behind him, "It's your choice," he said.

"Here, drink this," Maggie said and handed him a glass of water.

He immediately reached for it, and Hershel took a step back so that he could gulp down the liquid. His throat was still dry from when he sprinted away from the house, and then hiked through the woods in the dark, as he sobbed his eyes out.

"Thanks," He said softly and handed her back the empty glass once he had downed the entire glass.

Hershel stepped closer to him then and gently held his jaw, "Hold your head back so I can see your neck," He instructed him, and then inspected his neck when he did so, "It looks okay. It will probably bruise something nasty, but that's all," he told him, and then gave him a warm smile and patted his cheek before looking to Maggie and Paul, "The three of you get to bed now, you've got a long day tomorrow,"

"Yeah," Paul replied, and handed Daryl's duffle bag to Maggie before grabbing Daryl's elbow and helped him stand up, "Let's get you into bed, okay?" he said.

Daryl nodded and allowed Paul to lead him up the stairs after thanking Hershel.

"I set up a mattress in my bedroom, I figured that you'd probably want to stay with us," Maggie said, looking over her shoulder at him and Paul as they stepped into Maggie's bedroom.

Daryl nodded, "Thanks," He said.

Maggie closed her bedroom door behind them, and then stepped over to another door, "There's a bathroom in here if you'd like to use the bathroom and get changed?" He asked.

Daryl nodded and reached for his duffle bag which Paul had sat on Maggie's desk chair, and he dug around in it until he found a t-shirt, sweats, and clean boxers.

 

* * *

  

When he went back into the bedroom a few minutes later, Maggie had climbed back into her queen bed and was flicking through her phone, and Paul was sitting on the edge and also looking at something on his phone, but he looked up and smiled at Daryl when he heard him come out.

Daryl smiled back and placed his dirty clothes back in his duffle bag, before stepping over to the mattress that had been made up beside Paul's side of the bed. He pulled the covers back, and then laid down, settling on his back and covering himself with the blankets and resting a hand over his stomach.

He met Paul's eyes, and Paul was still smiling warmly at him, "Let's all get some sleep, yeah?" he said and also climbed into bed beside Maggie.

Daryl nodded, "Gladly," He said.

Maggie chuckled softly and turned off the lamp on her nightstand, "Goodnight, boys," she said.

"Night," Daryl whispered, and Paul did the same before all three of them fell silent.

Daryl was so incredibly exhausted that he fell asleep within a few minutes.


	5. Chapter 5

When Daryl woke, he was greeted by a throbbing pain in his nose and jaw, and a dull ache in his neck. He groaned softly as he tore his eyes open and was confused for a moment as he looked at the unfamiliar ceiling before remembering that he had come to Maggie's house a few hours earlier after he had escaped from his father.

He rubbed at his eyes for a moment and then sat up on the mattress Maggie had made up for him. The mattress was comfortable, and the covers were nice and warm, and it had led to him having a pleasant sleep. He looked at the nightstand beside him and noticed that the alarm clock read seven-fifteen am.

He yawned heavily and stretched his arms over his head, his eyes flickering to the lump in the bed. He grinned when he looked at Maggie and Paul who were still fast asleep and snuggling. Paul's head was resting on top of Maggie's breasts, and he had an arm over her stomach while she cupped the back of his head with one hand, and her other arm was wrapped around his back beneath the covers, holding him close.

Daryl founding himself wish that he could hold Paul like that, he'd love to have the younger man in his arms.

He watched them for a few more moments, but then he felt the familiar feeling of his gut swirling and he knew he only had a few seconds to get to the bathroom before he vomited everywhere. He darted up quickly, and sprinted into the bathroom, the door slamming against the wall as he dropped to his knees in front of the toilet, pushing the lid up and then immediately emptying the contents of his stomach into it.

He was alone for a few seconds, but then he could hear footsteps, and a few moments later, he heard someone sit down beside him and fingers were suddenly in his hair and pulling it away from his face.

"Get it out," Paul's voice filled his ears suddenly, soft and gentle as one hand stroked his back.

Daryl stopped after a few more heaves and rested his head against his arm, "Sorry for waking you," he almost whimpered, and Paul wiped away the sweat that had formed on his brow.

Paul shushed him, "Don't worry about that," He murmured, beginning to stroke his fingers through his hair and Daryl could have purred from the affection, "Are you alright?"

Daryl shrugged, "It's just morning sickness. I'm starting to get used to it," he said.

Paul nodded, "Okay. Maggie's gone to make some breakfast for everyone, would you like to lay back down until it's ready?" he asked him.

Daryl nodded and began to stand up, not minding when Paul wrapped an arm around him and basically lifted him up with surprising strength. Paul led him back into the room and to the bed, "You can lay in the bed," Paul told him, and Daryl didn't have the energy to fight; he was still tired, he was in pain, and his stomach was still a little off.

"Thank you," Daryl said softly as he settled down in Maggie's bed, pulling the covers over himself.

Paul smiled at him and brushed his fingers over his cheeks for a moment, "Get some more rest, I'll go help Maggie, and I'll come and get you when it's ready," He told him, and Daryl nodded before closing his eyes and then Daryl heard Paul leave the bedroom.

 

* * *

  

He was woken up again by the covers being gently pulled from his body and a hand on his waist, and when he opened his eyes, he was greeted by Paul's soft smile.

"Breakfast is ready if you'd like to come and have some," he told him, and Daryl nodded, stretching his back for a moment before standing up.

He followed Paul out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the kitchen. A pleasant smell greeted him, and his stomach quickly grumbled in response. Maggie was stood by plates filled with food, and serving some onto her own, and Beth and Hershel were sat at the dining table and were eating.

Everyone looked up when they heard him enter, "Good morning, Daryl!" Beth was the one to greet him, a sweet smile on her face and her blonde hair was up in a messy bun.

She looked nothing like Maggie, Daryl noticed, the sisters were only two years apart in age difference, but Beth looked much younger than sixteen.

"Morning," Daryl replied, giving her a smile and following Paul over to the food, accepting the plate that Paul held out for him.

"How are you feeling Daryl?" Hershel then asked, having a sip of his orange juice and looking at him curiously.

Daryl shrugged and joined Paul in serving food onto his plate. Maggie and Paul had cooked a large traditional breakfast, there were fried eggs, bacon, toast, sausages, baked beans, and several kinds of cut fruit.

"Okay," He replied, he was still miserable after the previous night and wasn't much in the mood for chatting. Maggie seemed to sense that and engaged her sister and father in conversation.

"You okay?" Paul asked softly, placing a sausage on his own plate and then another on Daryl's.

Daryl nodded, meeting his eyes for a moment, "Just exhausted," He said, and Paul nodded in understanding, and the pair moved on.

Once they had stacked their plates full of food, they joined the Greene's at the dining table and began digging in. Daryl shoved mouthful after mouthful into his mouth, the last decent meal he had had was the chicken wrap he'd eaten at the café with Paul a week ago, and he was starving.

Sure, he had eaten since, but it snacky kinds of things here and there and leftover takeaways that his father had ordered.

"Hungry Daryl?" Maggie asked, smiling at him as she cut pieces of her toast.

Daryl nodded immediately and shoveled more food in his mouth, he swallowed the mouthful and then gave Maggie a smile, "Thank you. It's really good," he said.

Her smile broadened, "No worries, Daryl," she replied.

They all fell into silence for a few minutes before Beth cleared her throat. She gave Daryl a shy smile, and her cheeks reddened a little, "Can I ask about the baby?" She asked, looking quite excited and Paul chuckled from where he was sat beside Daryl.

"Sure," Daryl replied, swallowing a mouthful of the orange juice that Hershel had poured for him.

Beth grinned, "How far along are you?" She asked.

"About a month," He replied, cutting off a piece of his sausage and popping it into his mouth.

"Do you know what you want to name it?" She then asked, and Paul chuckled again, and Daryl smiled when he felt his hand on his lower back.

Daryl shook his head, "No, I ain't even thought about that yet," He said, and then turned to face Paul, "Have you?" He asked him.

Paul shook his head, "No, I haven't," He replied, shaking his head and picking up a cube of watermelon, "Besides, we have ages to talk about that kind of stuff," he said.

Hershel laughed softly from his spot, "It may seem like that, son, but trust me, you'll be in a hospital holding that baby before you know it," He told them.

The words made nerves swirl in his stomach, he hadn't actually thought about the delivery process yet. Deciding it was too much for that morning, he shoved the thoughts out of his head.

He looked over at Paul and found that his lips were quirked in a small smile. Daryl wondered if he was excited.

 

* * *

  

After breakfast, they packed all of their things into Maggie's car, and Daryl stood off to the side while Maggie and Paul said their goodbyes to Hershel and Beth.

He was taken by surprise when Beth trotted up to him, giving him a broad smile and wrapping her thin arms around his shoulders as she stood on her tiptoes and rested her chin on his shoulder. After a moment, he hugged her back awkwardly and patted her back before they pulled apart.

She gave him a smile, "Send me a photo of the baby when you have an ultrasound!" She said and then headed back to the front steps of the house.

Maggie waved at her sister and then got in the driver's side of the car, Paul standing by the front passenger side as he waited for Daryl.

Hershel came to a stop in front of him, smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Good luck, Daryl. Don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything," He told him, his eyes serious and boring into his own.

Daryl nodded and smiled softly, "Thank you," He said, and Hershel patted his shoulder before moving to join Beth on the porch.

Daryl turned back to the car, "Are you okay in the back?" Paul asked him, and he looked so nice.

They were all wearing comfy clothes as they had an eight-hour drive ahead of them, Paul wore a grey Henley and black sweats, and a pair of old sneakers. His hair was in a messy bun, and he had dark circles under his eyes that made him look sleepy. He just looked adorable.

Daryl nodded and slid into the backseat of the car, and once Paul was in, Maggie put the car in drive and they turned onto the road that led off the farm, Maggie honking at Hershel and Beth as they drove away.

 

* * *

 

The sun was almost entirely set when they reached their apartment in Richmond, Maggie parking the car and they all immediately exited the car, stretching their stiff bodies and groaning. They'd stopped a total of two times for bathroom and food breaks along the way, and then a third time on the side of the road because Daryl needed to vomit.

Daryl had been asleep for the last hour and a half, so he, unfortunately, hadn't been able to see the city as they drove in, which was a shame as he had never been outside of Georgia, or even to a city at all.

"Reckon we can get everything up in one go?" Paul asked as he stretched his arms above his head and yawned, and Daryl's eyes were drawn to the pale patch of skin that was exposed when his shirt lifted up, and he blushed when Paul caught him looking.

Maggie nodded as she tucked her phone into her back pocket and pushed her messy hair out of her face, "We can definitely try," She replied.

The three of them set to it. Luckily Paul and Maggie had already brought all of the furniture up the previous weekend, and though it was a struggle, they managed to get everything into their apartment building and then into the elevator with them as they traveled to the eight floor where their apartment was.

They got everything inside with little dramas, Maggie only tripping over once and dropping her things everywhere.

Daryl looked around the apartment when they were inside, it was open plan, the kitchen, dining room, and living room all being in the one main area, two doors on the left wall, and then one on the right along with a few cupboards that had sliding doors.

His lips pulled in a smile.

"So," Paul said as he placed his bags down on the wooden floor, "The couch is a pull-out, so I'll sleep there, and your room is the one of the left,"

Daryl immediately screwed up his nose, "Fuck off," He said, and Paul quirked an eyebrow at him, "I ain't taking your room. I'll be fine on the couch, I would be nicer than where I've been sleeping for the past fourteen years anyway," He grunted, and went and sat down on the couch to prove his point.

Paul sighed, but nodded, "Okay, if that's what you want, but we might want to switch when you get further along," he said.

Maggie hummed in agreement, "Yeah, you're going to be uncomfortable when you're heavily pregnant, you won't want to be on a couch,"

"And you'll want privacy when the baby comes," Paul added.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Daryl grumbled, but blushed when Paul walked over and kissed his cheek before stepping over to the TV and grabbing the remote.

"Let's see what's on, shall we?" Paul said as he turned the TV on and then dropped down on the couch by Daryl and threw an arm around Daryl's shoulders which made his cheeks heat up and happy butterflies swirl in his stomach.

Maggie chuckled at both of them, "I'm going to have a shower, guys," She told them and then headed to her room with her bags, and Daryl assumed that she must have the bedroom with the ensuite.

"Kay," Paul replied and settled on a TV show, getting comfortable and keeping his arm around Daryl's shoulders, and after being tense for a few moments, Daryl allowed himself to relax into it.

Daryl already felt more at ease being in Richmond, he was eight hours away from his father, and his father didn't know where he was. He was safe, and his baby was safe. He let out a deep sigh.

"You okay?" Paul asked him softly.

Daryl nodded and leaned his head back so that it rested against Paul, "I'm good," He said softly, and he grinned when Paul kissed his hair.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update finally!

"How do I look?" Paul asked, stepping out of the bathroom and patting down his shirt.

Daryl looked up at him from where he was sat at the dining table and eating the omelet that Maggie had cooked for their breakfast.

Paul wore tight black jeans that hugged his muscular thighs and ass in a way that made Daryl swallow thickly and struggle to tear his eyes away. His shirt was a navy-blue button up that he had tucked into the jeans. The jeans were rolled up just above his black boots, and his hair was up in a messy but stylish bun. He looked nice and very cute.

"You look good," Daryl replied, giving Paul a shy smile as he swallowed a mouth of his food.

Paul smiled back, and his cheeks flushed red, "Thanks," he said softly.

Maggie chuckled at the both of them, she was sat beside Daryl eating her own omelet and wearing comfy jeans and a blue sweater, ready for her day of classes, "Stop being so nervous, you've already got the job, the hard part is over, Paul" she reassured Paul.

Paul sighed and nodded and joined them at the table where Maggie had set a place for him, "I can't help it," he mumbled, stabbing his fork into his breakfast and running the palm of his hand over his bearded jaw before shoving the forkful into his mouth.

They'd been in Richmond for a week now, and on their third day in the city, Paul went for an interview at a martial arts studio a few blocks over that he had applied for the week previous when he and Maggie had first come to the apartment to sort it out. Yesterday, he had been accepted for the job as the martial arts studio's receptionist, and also as an assistant to one of the instructors, and his boss had told him that if he could prove himself, he'd be able to teach a kid's class in a couple of months.

Daryl reached out and squeezed Paul's wrist, and Paul immediately looked at him, his eyes soft but his mouth in a frown, "You'll do just fine, and you know it," he told the younger boy, enjoying the feeling of his skin beneath his hand, brushing his thumb over the bones that he could touch.

Paul finally smiled, "You're sweet," he said softly, cupping and petting Daryl's cheek for a moment. He then turned to Maggie, "Morgan seems like a great guy anyway, and I'm sure he'll be a good boss to work for," He said, seeming to be more reassuring himself than telling either one of them.

"Exactly," Maggie said, tucking her hair behind her ears and her phone went off with a text alert, and her attention went to that.

Paul sighed heavily, and looked to Daryl again, "What are you up to today?" He asked.

Daryl shrugged as he chewed his food, "Not exactly sure," He admitted and then noticed Paul's laptop sat on the kitchen island behind them, " I should probably look around for an OB-GYN's office close by. If I'm okay to borrow your laptop…" he said.

The younger boy nodded immediately, "Of course you can use it, Daryl. We can talk more when I get home after work this afternoon," he said.

"I'll try and figure out how much it'll cost us each appointment," Daryl offered, thinking over how much they could afford to spend, "and when we find a place, if you wanted to call and make an appointment that'll suit you,"

Paul nodded and had some of his orange juice before replying, "Yeah, I'll call them, no worries," He said.

Daryl let out a soft sigh of relief. The idea of calling to make an appointment, with the fact that he was a man and so young, made him feel ridiculously nervous, "Thank you," he said.

 

* * *

 

Daryl was walking along the street with his head down, just hoping that people wouldn't look at him. There was a lot of people in the city, and he wasn't used to it.

He'd been on Paul's laptop for the entirety of the morning and had found an OB-GYN's office that was only a couple of blocks over. It would be about a thirty-minute walk, or they could take Maggie's car or catch the bus, he and Paul would talk about it.

The office's website let him know the prices of the different procedures, it would cost him about two-hundred and fifty bucks to get an ultrasound, and he reminded himself that he needed to speak to Paul about the man going halves on the costs of appointments with him. He thought it was a fair request as the baby was Paul's too, and they'd both created it; Paul had also been lovely so far with the pregnancy, and Daryl doubted he'd do anything but agree.

After finding out the price of the appointment, he had dived into a spiral of research, and before he knew what had happened, he knew what felt like hundreds of all the things that could go wrong with the baby and himself. He'd ended up a sobbing mess on the couch for half an hour, not worrying about being heard as Maggie was at classes and Paul had gone to work. He'd held his stomach as he sobbed, and when he finally got his shit together, he googled the location of a bookstore on his phone and decided he was going to buy books about what he was going to experience during his pregnancy, and how to keep himself as healthy as possible.

The bookstore turned out to be just down the end of the street their apartment building was on, and only a couple minutes' walk from their front door.

The bookstore was a cute brick building with big glass windows, and when he walked inside, he was greeted by a tall ceiling and two different levels, the second being a mezzanine level. There were bookshelves everywhere, along with tables and chairs.

There was a man who stood behind the cash register that Daryl ducked behind bookshelves to avoid, wanting to give himself time to calm down before he had to interact with actual people. The man looked like the kind of person that would be nice; he had curly brunette hair and wore a soft green sweater and was chatting happily with an elderly woman who seemed to be buying cooking books.

Daryl made his way through the seemingly endless bookshelves, trying to find the pregnancy and parenting section. It took him close to fifteen minutes, but he did eventually find the section he was searching for. It was on the second floor, and towards the back.

He felt relieved and nervous at the sight of all of the books at the same time. He smiled softly when he noticed that the pregnancy section was broken up into male pregnancy, female pregnancy, and relevant to both.

The cover of one book, had a man tan-skinned man, wearing a tank top and smiling as he held his heavily pregnant bump. The title read 'Your Pregnancy Month by Month.' He read the back of the book and flicked through a couple of pages before deciding that it was worth the forty bucks and tucked it under his arm and reaching for another. He got several other books, one that focused on remaining mentally and physically healthy during his pregnancy, another on what to expect during his delivery that he'd read a bit later, and he also got a couple on parenthood even though he and Paul didn't need them right away, he wanted to be prepared.

He managed to refrain himself from buying a baby name book, no matter how tempting it was. He knew that that would be a complete waste of money because there were thousands of baby name websites that he could access from his shitty phone or Paul's laptop.

His heart thumped in his chest as he made his way back down the stairs and to the front register. The curly-headed man was still there and ringing up a couple.

Daryl waited in line patiently, trying to hold the books to his chest tightly, hoping that people couldn't see what kind they were. He knew it was ridiculous, that he shouldn't care what people thought of room, but he couldn't help it.

"Good afternoon," The curly-headed man chirped when the couple left and it was Daryl's turn.

"Hey," Daryl replied, his cheeks flushing furiously as he placed the books down on the counter and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. He'd gone to the bank a couple of days previous and now had himself an account sorted out along with a card that he could access his money from.

"How are you today?" The curly-headed man asked as he began scanning Daryl's items.

"Alright," Daryl replied, nervously folding his arms over his chest.

Aaron met his eyes, his were a pretty blue and his smile lit up his entire face. Daryl noticed that he was handsome and that made him even more nervous, he'd always been nervous when it came to talking to cute guys, whether he had a crush on them or not.

It was different now that he and Paul were friends, but had it been back when they didn't know each other, Daryl would be a stuttering and blushing mess any time that he was around him. Granted, he still blushes, but he can usually talk just fine.

"These for you?" Aaron asked him, placing the books that he had already scanned into a bag.

Daryl blinked a couple of times, "No… they're for my sister," he said quickly, not planning on parading his pregnancy around, and he immediately winced and closed his eyes when he realized what he had said; he'd just purchased a bunch of male pregnancy books, and then stated that they were for his sister.

Aaron quirked a brow at him, "Oh?" he replied, scanning his last book.

Daryl sighed heavily, "Sorry, they're for me," he said quietly, his cheeks blushing furiously as he avoided eye contact with the older man.

Aaron chuckled softly, "Don't worry about it, no judgment here. My husband, Eric, gave birth to our daughter almost a year ago," he said, smiling warmly at him.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked, taking his bag of books from him.

Aaron nodded, "Yep. Little Gracie," he said and motioned to a framed photo that sat on the register. Daryl looked at the picture and found a chubby baby with blonde hair and big blue eyes, sat on the lap of a cute auburn-haired man's lap, both of them were laughing, and it made Daryl smile softly. He felt of a bounce in excitement in his stomach that he got to have that in a while.

"Cute," Daryl said, giving Aaron a smile.

"I know," Aaron said, looking at the photo for a moment, "So, congratulations are in order then," He told him, seeming happy to have a chat as there weren't any other customers waiting in line.

Daryl, while definitely not a chatty guy, didn't like the idea of having a casual chat, about his pregnancy especially, but then he noticed the little 'help wanted' sign on top of the register. He knew he couldn't work as a mechanic's when he got further on in his pregnancy, so there was no point finding a job, only to ask for leave after two or so months; he couldn't afford that anyway, he needed to be working as late into his pregnancy as he could. He figured that there were plenty of things he could do while pregnant in the bookstore.

"Guess they are," Daryl said.

"How far along?" Aaron asked, glancing down at Daryl's stomach briefly.

"A bit over a month now, hopin' to go to the first ultrasound with the dad soon," Daryl replied, and he really was, he couldn't wait to go and have an ultrasound and for him and Paul to see their baby, and to know that if they were both healthy; that was the most important thing to him.

Aaron grinned, resting his elbows on the wooden desk, "The first ultrasound is pretty amazing, I bawled my eyes out when I went with Eric," he admitted.

Daryl chuckled softly, and suspected that he would probably also cry when he first saw the baby, "Do you mind me asking where you and your husband went? We're new to the area, and I've been looking at a place,"

"Eric and I went to the place on Bent Street, and our OB-GYN was Carol Peletier. She was great, incredibly supportive throughout the entire pregnancy, and she recommended an excellent surgeon to deliver the baby," Aaron explained.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah that was the one I'd found, the price seemed reasonable and had good reviews, so…"

"It's a good choice, you won't regret it," Aaron assured him, and then glanced at the 'help wanted' sign that Daryl had been continuing to sneak glances at, trying to read the fine print about what was required, "You interested?" He asked.

Daryl bit his lip for several moments before meeting Aaron's eyes and nodding, "Me and the father and our other friend just moved here from Georgia. We've only been here a week, and Paul's got a job, and Maggie's got support from her dad and is in College, but I need to start making money to if me and Paul are going to be able to support the bub," he explained.

Aaron nodded, looking thoughtful for several moments before grinning at him again, "Well, if you'd like, you can come in tomorrow at twelve, and I'll interview you," he offered.

Daryl smiled gently, "Yeah?" he asked, and Aaron nodded, "Thank you, I'll be here," he quickly accepted.

"I look forward to it," Aaron said, standing straight again as another customer had arrived and was waiting behind Daryl, "I'll see you tomorrow, have a good day,"

"You too!" Daryl called, holding his bag of books to his chest and grinning as he stepped out of the bookstore and back onto the street.

 

* * *

 

 It was half-past four when Paul got back to the apartment.

Daryl had been sitting on the couch in comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt. He was tucked up under his blankets and propped up against his pillows as he read his month by month pregnancy book.

"How was it?" Daryl asked, folding his book closed for a moment and sitting up a little straighter as Paul kicked his boots off and then made his way over to the pull-out couch to join him.

Paul smiled wide and collapsed down on the mattress, stretching his legs out and rolling onto his side, "It was great actually. Being on reception is pretty boring, but it was really fun when I got to help out with the classes. I can't wait to do more of that," he said.

Daryl grinned, "That's great," he said, reaching out and pushing some hair back from where it had been covering Paul's face, "I'm glad you like it,"

Paul shifted a little closer to him and reached for the book, "Did you go to a bookstore today?" he asked as he looked at the cover of the book.

Daryl nodded and shifted down the bed further so that he could be more level with Paul, "Yeah, there's one on this block actually, just up the street. The cashier was a really nice guy Aaron, was telling me about the OB-GYN him and his husband, Eric, went to back when Eric was pregnant,"

"Have you looked them up then?" Paul asked, handing Daryl back his book.

Daryl nodded, placing his book down on the mattress beside him and then looking back at the younger boy, "I was lookin' 'em up before I went, just coincidence that Aaron and Eric went to the same one, but yeah, he convinced me that it's the one for us. It's a couple of blocks over, and their OB-GYN was Dr. Peletier, so to try and get booked with her,"

Paul hummed and gave him a soft smile, "No worries, it's a bit late now, but I'll call in the morning or on my break at work and book you in for an ultrasound, I'll find the number from their website," he said, and Daryl nodded in agreement.

"Oh, and, going in for a job interview at the bookstore tomorrow," Daryl said after a few moments of silence, completely forgetting the most important part.

Paul's eyes widened, "Really?" he asked, a broad grin spreading on his lips, and Daryl nodded, "Well done!" Paul said and then launched himself forward to wrap his arms around Daryl's shoulders and hug him.

Butterflies fluttered in Daryl's stomach as he hugged the boy back, resting his head on his shoulder and sighing softly at the faint scent of the man's vanilla and honey scented shampoo that lingered in his hair. He felt tears spring in his eyes before he knew what was happening, he held Paul tighter and closer, taking a deep breath as he was overcome with the need to not let him go.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Paul asked softly, sensing that something was wrong as he moved one hand to cup the back of Daryl's head.

"We're going to be okay, right?" Daryl whispered, trying to keep his voice steady but he felt the tears slip down his cheeks, "Our baby's going to be okay, we won't fuck them up?" he said, wincing as his voice turned to a whimper.

Paul shushed him immediately, "Shh, of course, we're going to be okay. We may not know what we're doing, but we're going to try our best, our baby's going to be safe and healthy and happy. We're going to be good parents, Daryl, I know we will," he whispered in his ear as he brushed his fingers through his hair.

Daryl breathed in deeply and nodded against Paul's shoulder, but he didn't let him go, and Paul didn't seem to mind at all.


	7. Chapter 7

Daryl sat the box of books down on the carpeted floor and rolled his shoulders for a moment before leaning down and beginning to place them on their designated place on the shelves.

It was his third shift at Aaron and Eric's bookstore, and sure it wasn't working on cars, but he still enjoyed it well enough. He made nineteen bucks an hour, which he suspected was more than what he actually should be making, but Aaron and Eric wanted to pay him more as they were aware of the financial stress he and Paul were under with the baby coming along. He'd argue, but it was money that he needed, so he kept his mouth shut but tried to show the couple that he was worth it.   
  
His work was simple enough; he stocked the shelves, told customers were certain sections were and if he could, helped them find a book, some general cleaning, and he worked the register a couple of hours a day. The register was his least favorite part as it involved being reasonably cordial, but really all he needed to do was say hello and goodbye, ask how the customers day was and pretend that he cared, and to thank them for shopping at the store.

It was nearing four O'clock, which meant Daryl would be leaving soon. He usually worked from open to close on weekdays, nine to five, but he'd been given the okay to finish early today so that he and Paul could get to his ultrasound appointment.

Paul had called and made the appointment the day after they decided that they wanted Dr. Peletier to be their OB-GYN, but she was heavily booked and couldn't fit them in for a week. So, they'd had to impatiently wait. They were both anxious to see if the baby was healthy, and to of course see the baby too.

Things had been going smoothly since they moved to Richmond two weeks previous. Paul's boss had seen his potential and was already letting him take part in classes more, Maggie was keeping up with her classes and had already gone on a date with a boy named Glenn in her English class and seemed pretty smitten. Daryl was slowly looking over his shoulder less and less, beginning to feel safer and that his father wasn't lurking behind every corner. He and Paul had also been growing closer, and Daryl was not so patiently waiting for the other boy to make a move, he knew that he'd never had the guts to.

He jumped when nimble fingers were suddenly poking his sides, and he spun around on his feet. The sight of Paul grinning met him, and he immediately glared.

"Asshole," he grunted, leaning down into the box of books again and putting the last two on the shelf before picking it up.

Paul laughed softly and folded his arms over his sweater covered chest, "Aw come on," he said, his long hair falling in front of his face a little and Daryl wanted to tuck it away.

Daryl nudged him in the side playfully before beginning to walk, "Come on, I gotta put this out back and grab my stuff," he said, and he could hear Paul following along behind him, "Did you meet Aaron and Eric?"

"No, I didn't see them around anywhere," he replied.

"They must be out back then," Daryl said, and they reached the door that led to the staff only part of the bookstore. It contained a bathroom, a small kitchen and dining area, and office for Aaron and Eric, and a storage room for the new products they got it.

Daryl opened the door and stepped inside, walking through the kitchen to the storage area and folding up the box before placing it on the shelf. He then took Paul by the elbow and walked a couple of steps to Aaron and Eric's office door and pushed it open.

He found both men inside; Aaron sitting at the desk going over papers and Eric drinking a coffee in the small couch. They both looked up when he entered.

"Hey," he greeted, and both men gave him a soft smile. Paul stepped up beside him, "This is Paul, one of my roommates and the baby's dad," he said, very much wishing that he could have said that he was his boyfriend too.

Aaron stood up from his chair and walked over, Eric quickly doing the same, "Hi, Paul. I'm Aaron, and this is my husband Eric," the curly-headed man greeted, and he shook Paul's hand.

"Hi," Paul replied, smiling widely and proceeding to shake Eric's hand also, "It's great to meet you. Mind if I borrow Daryl for the rest of the afternoon?"

Aaron grinned and walked back to his chair, "Of course," he replied, "We'll see you tomorrow, Daryl," he said.

"Be sure to bring an ultrasound photo!" Eric said excitedly and petted his arm.

Daryl chuckled softly and nodded. "Will do. See you, guys," he said and took Paul by the elbow again.

"Bye!" Paul called, and the two of them left the office. "They seem nice," he said as they entered the central area of the bookstore again and began walking towards the front entrance.

Daryl hummed softly and waved goodbye to Sasha who was working the register, she smiled and waved back, "Yeah, they're both really nice. They've been great so far," he replied.

They stepped outside, and the cool air immediately hit him, and he hissed a little, wrapping his arms around himself as Paul led him to where he had parked Maggie's car. The girl had let them borrow it, so they could quickly get to the appointment, and had gotten a ride to campus with one of her new friends who lived close by to them.

"I brought an extra jacket for you in the car, you'll want to put it on. It's supposed to get colder as it gets later," Paul said, pulling the car keys from his pocket.

Daryl smiled softly, "Thanks," he said softly, and they finally reached the car, Paul unlocking it and the two immediately climbed inside.

Paul spent a few minutes pulling up directions to the OB-GYN's on his phone, and then they were off; driving through the busy streets of Richmond and getting ready to see their baby for the first time.

 

* * *

 

Daryl held Paul's hand as they walked into OB-GYN's office, and Daryl was grateful for the contact. Paul's hand was soft and warm in his own and provided him with a surprising amount of comfort.

The office wasn't like Daryl expected it to be, he expected it to look much like a hospital in terms of style. The walls were painted a soft peachy pink and had nice paintings on them. The floor was a soft looking carpet, and the waiting room had a comfortable looking armchair in a teal color, there were wooden stands with a variety of magazines and brochures and the kid's play area actually looked inviting.

Daryl understood that Dr. Peletier, who owned the practice was all about making sure her customers were comfortable. He knew he'd appreciate that, especially when he got further along in his pregnancy; he wouldn't want to be sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair while he waited for an appointment.

The two of them walked up to the reception desk, and a dark-haired woman smiled brightly at them, "Hi! How can I help you today?" she asked.

"Hi," Paul greeted her, smiling back, "We have an ultrasound appointment at quarter to five for Dixon," he told her.

She nodded and typed on keyboard to the computer that sat in front of her, "Okay," she said after a few moments, "Please take a seat or browse our free brochures, and Dr. Peletier will be out to collect you when she's ready," the receptionist informed them with a bright smile.

"Thank you," Paul replied and squeezed Daryl's hand before walking towards the comfy armchairs.

Daryl immediately sat down while Paul walked over to the wall of brochures, and began scanning through them alongside another pregnant woman, who looked ready to pop at any moment. Daryl was kind of terrified of the fact that he'd eventually get roughly that big.

Ten minutes later, Paul was sat down again and reading through the massive stack of brochures that he had gotten for themselves when a voice called Daryl's last name.

They both looked up to find a petite woman with short greying hair smiling at the both of them, "If you'd like to follow me," she said, and both of them immediately stood up, Paul tucking his stack of brochures into the pocket of his coat as they followed the doctor down the hall.

Dr. Peletier stopped by a door and opened it for them, smiling as they stepped inside. She closed the door behind herself once she was also inside, and sat down by the ultrasound, "Alright, Mr. Dixon if you could lay down on the bench and lift your top, and Mr. Rovia feel free to take a seat," she said.

Daryl did as she said and laid down on the bench, he pulled his coat off and handed it to Paul before pulling his shirt up, exposing his tan stomach, and he flushed a little embarrassment. He didn't have a bump yet, but he'd always been a little squishier in the middle, and it could make him insecure.

"So, Mr. Dixon, you're recently pregnant, and this is the baby's father I presume?" she said, picking up a bottle and giving him a soft smile.

"Yeah, that's right," Daryl replied.

"Paul," the other boy said.

"Well, it's nice to meet both of you. I'll be your OB-GYN for the duration of your pregnancy, feel free to call me Carol, I prefer my patients to do so," she said.

Daryl nodded in understanding and took a deep breath.

"Thank you," Paul said, and reached out, he grabbed Daryl's hand in his own and squeezed it.

"Let's get started," Carol said, smiling at them and opening the bottle, "Now this is going to be quite cold," she said and reached out to squirt it onto Daryl's stomach.

Daryl tensed as the cold liquid hit his skin, and he squeezed Paul's hand harder. He bit at his lip nervously and watched as Carol picked up the ultrasound machine wand and proceeded to place it on his stomach.

She moved the wand around, and the picture came up on the screen above them. Daryl stared at the screen, desperate to see his baby on the blur of black.

"So," Carol said, "Mr. Dixon, I'm sure you know that since you're male that you'll have to deliver the baby via C-section?" she said as she searched for the baby.

Daryl nodded, and Paul spoke up, "Would we find the surgeon ourselves?"

"I know a number of great surgeons, and I can recommend one to you, and you can set up the appointment for as close to a week before your due date yourselves,"

"Alright," Paul replied, and Daryl nodded in understanding.

Carol stopped the wand and kept it in one place, she smiled wide and reached out to touch the screen, "There's your baby," she said, pointing to a white blur in the middle of black.

Daryl stared at it. It merely looked like a little blog, a couple of bumps that Carol began to point out as its head and the beginning of its arms and legs forming.   
Daryl felt the tears forming in his eyes as he stared at his baby, and Paul lifted his hand to his mouth and kissed it.

"That's our baby," Paul said softly, and Daryl finally turned his head to look at him. He had a broad smile on his face, and his eyes were a little glassy.

Daryl grinned back, "Our baby," he said softly, and Paul leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

Daryl turned to Carol, who was smiling at the both of them, "Is it okay?" he asked.

Carol nodded, "Everything looks wonderful," she said, "I won't be able to tell you the sex until your mid-pregnancy scan, which will be from sixteen to around twenty-two weeks,"

"So, he's healthy?" Paul asked, referring to the baby as a 'he' despite being told they couldn't know the sex yet.

Daryl smiled at it, he wondered if Paul wanted a son, or if it had just slipped from his tongue.

"Perfectly healthy," She said, "You look to be around six weeks. It's the thirteenth of July today, so we'll put your due date at twenty-third of April next year," she explained, and both Paul and Daryl nodded.

"Seems like a long time to wait before we meet him," Paul said, chuckling softly.

"Think of it as nine months to get our shit together," Daryl said, laughing softly.

Carol laughed too, "How many copies of the ultrasound would you like?" she asked.

Daryl thought for a moment and looked to Paul, "We'll go four," he replied.

Carol nodded, "Alright, I'll go and print those off for you, and I have to turn the picture off," she said, "You can use those wipes to get the gel off your stomach, and I'll be back in just a few moments,"

She left after that, and Paul plucked the wipes up from where they were sitting, "May I?" he asked, raising a brow.

Daryl shrugged, "Sure," he replied.

Paul smiled and began to wipe the gel off of Daryl's stomach, and then helped him sit up and put his coat back on once he had.

"I'm getting excited," Paul said softly, and gently brushed some of Daryl's hair out of his face.

Daryl smiled and pulled Paul in for a hug, which the other boy happily accepted. "Me too," he whispered.

 

* * *

 

 

Daryl dropped down onto his bed, and Paul immediately joined him. Paul pulled an ultrasound print out of his pocket and held it up for them both to look at.

"We're gonna have a baby," Paul said, tilting his head to look at him, a smile pulling on his lips.

Daryl hummed softly, "Yeah, we are," he replied.

They smiled at each other, their eyes locked together and before Daryl knew what was happening, Paul had cupped his jaw and leaned forward, and he pressed their lips together.

Daryl moaned softly as Paul kissed him, threading a hand into the younger boy's hair and kissing him with everything in him. Their lips sliding together and Paul's tongue making its way into his mouth.

When they finally pulled apart, they kept their foreheads resting against each others'. Paul gently brushed his thumb over his cheekbones, their breath fluttering over each other's faces.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nsfw ahead!

They kissed for several wonderful minutes, grasping at each other's hair and waists desperately and letting out quiet moans against each other's lips. Daryl was just getting into position to crawl into Paul's lap and start grinding away, but the sound of keys jingling outside of the front door, caused them to pull apart.

Maggie stepped into the apartment moments later, her backpack swinging from one arm, her phone in the other and her hair was a mess from the wind outside. She threw her bag down on the kitchen bench and then turned to face them, blowing her hair out of her face and taking a deep breath.

Daryl shuffled awkwardly on the couch and tried to hide that his dick was partially hard from his and Paul's make-out session. Paul seemed to be doing the same, Daryl met his eyes, and his cheeks flushed when Paul gave him a smirk.

"I need help," Maggie said, and both of their attention when directed back to the girl looking at them expectantly.

Paul leaned back against the couch more and threw an arm around Daryl's shoulders, "What's the matter, Mag's?" the younger man asked.

"Glenn asked me out," She said, resting both hands on her hips and looking quite flustered.

"So?" Paul said, subtlety stroking the hair at the back of Daryl's neck with gentle fingers, "You've already been out with him once,"

Maggie rolled her eyes at him, "But this is a second date! That means he likes me enough to ask me out again!" She said, managing to sound both excited and very stressed at the same time.

Daryl smiled, "Of course he wants to go out with you again," Daryl said, and Maggie met his eyes, raising an eyebrow like she wasn't sure she believed it.

"Yeah Maggie," Paul agreed, "You're fucking great, and Glenn would be an asshole not to want to ask you out again," he said.

Maggie was quiet for a moment, moving to sit in the armchair by the couch and attempting to fix her hair. "I'm still nervous though," she said.

"Well, that's completely normal," Paul said. He removed his arm from around Daryl's shoulders and leaned forward on the couch so that he was closer to Maggie, and he reached for her hand that was sat on top of her ripped jeans. Paul gave it a firm squeeze, "Everyone's nervous on their first date," Paul said, "I was nervous as fuck when Daryl and I had sex,"

Daryl raised a brow, "You were nervous?" he asked.

Paul nodded, "Very much so," he hummed.

"You didn't seem it," Daryl grunted, relaxing back onto the couch and beginning to bite at the hangnails around his thumb.

Paul grinned at him, "You definitely did," he said with a smirk.

Daryl rolled his eyes and playfully punched the younger boy in the leg, "Of course I was fuckin' nervous, I'd never had sex before," he grunted.

Paul raised one of his brows, and his lips parted slightly, "Oh yeah, I forgot that that was your first time. You didn't tell me that until you told me you were pregnant," he said.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah,"

"Why didn't you tell me before we actually had sex that night?" Paul asked, and Maggie looked quite annoyed that they were currently ignoring her problem.

Daryl shrugged, "It's not like virginity's all that important or anything," he grumbled, "To me at least,"

Paul looked at him for a moment, his gorgeous blue-green eyes flickering all over his face, "Well, that's fair. But still, I don't know it could have been different if you'd told me…" he said, trailing off and swallowing thickly.

Daryl raised a brow at him, "What? You would have laid some rose petals out and lit some candles?" he asked.

Paul rolled his eyes, smirking a little, "No, I didn't mean that," he replied, "It's just… I dunno, it's not like we were… slow and gentle,"

"It was great the way it was," Daryl said, raising a brow and meaning it.

"So, I did good?" Paul asked, seeming a little nervous as he bit his bottom lip.

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows, "Yeah… why?" he asked, and Paul proceeded to shrug as his cheeks reddened, "You hadn't fucked before either had you?" he asked, and that was surprising because that meant Paul somehow had natural talent.

"Well, I've done things before, sucked dick, got my dick sucked, fingered some guys, and mutual hand jobs. But no, I hadn't had anal sex before, been fucked or done the fucking," he grunted, fiddling with his fingers.

Daryl blinked at him as he processed what he'd just been told.

"Dear God!" Maggie said from her spot on the armchair, and both of their eyes flickered over to her. She looked quite frustrated, "I don't need to hear about your sex life, please. Now, you two have done that, please can we get back to my problem please?"

Paul laughed softly, and Daryl's cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"Mag's, you never actually told us what the problem was," Paul replied.

Maggie sighed and stood up, "He's taking me out to dinner and then a movie! I don't know where dinner is, or what theatre we're going to… I have no fucking idea how fancy I'm supposed to dress!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and then beginning to walk towards the door that led to her bedroom. "Come help me!" she called out.

Paul tilted his head to look at Daryl and gave him a soft smile as he reached out and cupped his jaw, "We'll continue this after she's left," he whispered and then pressed their lips together.

Daryl hummed into the kiss and was left wanting more when Paul stood up to join Maggie in her bedroom to try and help her find something to wear on her date with Glenn.

 

* * *

 

Daryl ended up dozing off on the couch. Apparently, Maggie had also ended up needing Paul's help with how to wear her makeup and how to style her hair.

He was woken up by a knocking on the front door of their apartment. He sat up on the couch, grunting at the ache in his lower back and pushing his hair out of his face as he made his way to the door. Looking at the clock that hung on the wall, it was seven o'clock, meaning he'd been asleep for about an hour. He could hear chatting coming from Maggie's room as he opened the door.

He was met with the sight of a handsome Asian man. He had thick dark hair that was style nicely, the beginning of facial hair dusting above his lips and on his chin. He wore black slacks, and a maroon button up. Daryl figured it had to be Glenn, especially by the bouquet of flowers he held in his hand.

"Hi," The man greeted him, giving him a shy smile.

Daryl smiled back, his no more confident, "Hey. Glenn, I'm guessing?" he asked.

"That's me," Glenn nodded, and held out a hand, "Daryl or Paul?"

Daryl shook his hand, "Daryl," he replied, "Nice to meet you," he replied.

"You too," Glenn said, giving his hand a squeeze and then dropping it. "Is Maggie ready?" he asked.

"I ain't sure, but come in," Daryl said and stood to the side so that Glenn could walk through the door. "Sit down, I'll go find 'em," he replied.

"Thanks," Glenn replied and did as Daryl said and sat down on the couch, nervously fiddling with his fingers.

Daryl made his way to Maggie's bedroom door, and knocked on the wooden door softly, "Maggie, Glenn's here!" He called out.

Moments later, the door opened, and Paul stepped out. He smiled at Daryl, petting his waist and then stepping around him over to Glenn, holding his hand out, "Hi Glenn. Nice to meet you," Paul said, and the two of them shook hands.

"You too," Glenn said, smiling, but looking incredibly nervous as he spoke to Paul.

"Maggie will be right out," he told Glenn and then sat down on the armchair, looking out at Daryl and smiling as he held an arm out.

Daryl smiled and walked over to him, he sat down on the arm of the chair and Paul wrapped an arm around his lower back. Glenn smiled at the both of them; Daryl wondered if Maggie had told him that he was pregnant, he didn't want her to right at that time, but if their relationship became more serious he'd be fine. He just wasn't ready to be parading his pregnancy about just yet.

Maggie emerged moments later, and three pairs of eyes all turned to her. Daryl immediately smiled at how gorgeous she looked. She was wearing a simple white dress that was sexy and classy at the same time; ending a few inches above her knees and exposing some cleavage. She had a pair of black flats, which pulled it together in a more casual way.

"Hi," Maggie said, tucking some of her softly curled hair behind her ear and smiling shyly at Glenn.

"Hey," Glenn replied, he had a broad grin on his face and had stood up from the couch. He made his way over to her and gently grasped her waist, "You look beautiful," he said stuttering slightly, handing the flowers to Maggie as his cheeks turning beet red.

"You look very handsome," Maggie replied, taking the flowers, "Let me put these in a vase," she said, stepping into the kitchen and pulling a vase out from the cabinet.

Daryl turned his attention to Paul, who was watching Maggie and Glenn with a fond grin.

Maggie and Glenn left after that, waving goodbye to the both of them and Paul sending them both winks as she took Glenn's hand and then led him out of the apartment.

 

* * *

 

Daryl expected things to pick up exactly where they left off when Maggie left the apartment, but instead, Paul asked him if he wanted to cook dinner with him, and then two of them prepared the spaghetti recipe that they had gotten from Aaron and Eric. They then watched animal documentaries on Netflix as they enjoyed it, and then the cake Maggie had made the previous afternoon for dessert.

It was after they'd put the dishes away and Paul had showered that things finally picked up. Daryl watched as the boy had come out of the shower, he still had some droplets of water making their way down his body, and his wet hair had been combed out and was falling down his back.

"Shower's all yours," Paul said, smiling at him and then walking into his bedroom.

Daryl bit at his lip and tapped his fingers against his thigh, he spent a few seconds working up the courage before he stood up from the couch, he took a deep breath and then proceeded to make his way into Paul's room.

Paul had left the door slightly ajar, so he just pushed it and stepped inside. He found Paul standing by the head of the bed and typing away on his phone, presumably texting someone. After several moments of silence, Daryl cleared his throat and then nervously licked his lips.

Paul turned to look at him and smiled, "Hey, you okay?" He asked, obviously taking in the serious look on Daryl's face.

Daryl nodded and swallowed thickly, he was quiet for several moments, and then forced himself to meet Paul's eyes, "Kiss me," he said softly.

Paul immediately stepped forward, he cupped Daryl's cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. Daryl moaned softly as their lips connected, his own hands moved to Paul's waist, and he held the bare flesh firmly, loving how it felt beneath his palms.

Paul pried Daryl's lips apart and then slipped his tongue inside of his mouth, kissing him firmer and moving one of his hands thread his long fingers into his hair.

They pulled apart a few moments later, and Daryl let out a soft whine of annoyance and chased after Paul's lips, getting in another peck before Paul held him back and made him look at him.

"Is this what you want?" He asked, stroking his thumb over Daryl's cheekbone softly.

Daryl let out a breath and nodded, "Yes, please. I want you, I want you so much. Not just sex... you treat me so good it drives me crazy," he began, closing his eyes in embarrassment. He rested his forehead against Paul's, the boy only being a little shorter than him, "I don't want to do this without you, I can't do this without you, Paul," he whispered, and he could feel the stinging of tears in his eyes.

Paul sighed softly, "You don't have to do it without me," he whispered, moving one hand to Daryl's stomach and splaying his fingers out over it gently, "I'm here for you and our baby. I'm not going anywhere sweetheart," he whispered, and then pressed their lips together again.

Daryl kissed Paul back, trying to convey everything that he was feeling into the kiss. He pulled Paul's body close to his, only for a second before he decided that he needed to be shirtless too so that he could properly feel Paul's skin against his own. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and threw it to the floor, and Paul immediately had his lips on his again.

Paul's hands roamed up Daryl's sides, and Daryl smirked a little when they landed on his biceps and squeezed firmly. There was a lot of things about his body that Daryl didn't like, but he knew that he had nice arms, and Paul seemed to know it too.

Daryl whined when Paul proceeded to break the kiss, but the boy shushed him and began sucking and nibbling at his neck just moments later.

Daryl groaned softly, licking his lips as he tilted his head to the side to give Paul more room, "You know I have to work tomorrow?" he said, Paul's kisses beginning to bruise hickeys into his skin.

Paul chuckled against his skin but did pull away from his neck, his hands sliding down Daryl's body again, and Daryl gasped in surprise when the younger boy grabbed himself to handfuls of his ass and pulled him closer.

"Can't help myself," Paul whispered, keeping their eyes locked together as his hands began massaging Daryl's ass.

Daryl rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you could try," he said.

Paul smirked, "Do you really want me to?"

"Not at all," Daryl replied, and reached forward for the towel that was still wrapped around Paul's hips, and he tugged it off, letting it fall to the floor as Paul's hardening cock was exposed to him. He'd seen it once before, but it was months ago, and he'd been alcohol-impaired, it may as well be the first time again.

He licked his lips as he looked at it, he definitely remembered the part where the boy's cock was big, he recalled how he'd ached the day after. He tentatively wrapped a hand around it and began stroking. It was only half hard, but still felt good in his hand, and he gave it a little squeeze, smirking when Paul moaned softly in appreciation.

He continued for a few moments, and then Paul's hands were on his shoulders and pushing him back towards the bed. Daryl let him do it and let go of Paul's cock just as he began falling down onto the mattress. He bounced a couple of times against the pillows and grinned up at Paul.

Paul grinned back, and reached forward for Daryl's jeans, "Can I?" He asked, and Daryl very quickly nodded, and Paul undid the button and then unzipped them. He eagerly pulled the jeans and boxers down his legs, and Daryl's cheeks flushed deeply when Paul hummed and licked his lips as he looked at his lower half.

"Paul," Daryl said, hoping to get the boy's attention back, feeling the embarrassment from being under Paul's gaze for so long.

Paul raised a brow and looked up at him, "You're so gorgeous, baby," he said and then squeezed his thigh firmly.

Daryl grinned a little and watched as Paul moved around the bed and began searching through his nightstand.

"Please tell me that you have lube in there," Daryl said, adjusting how he was laying against the pillow, so he felt more comfortable.

Paul nodded and proceeded to pull a bottle out, holding it up triumphantly and grinning, "Got it," he said.

"Come here then," Daryl said, spreading his legs to make room for Paul and smirking.

Paul smirked back and eagerly joined him on the bed, climbing on top of his body and kissing him firmly. Daryl slipped his tongue into the boy's mouth and placing his hands on his back, running them up and down and sighing softly at the feeling of the man's soft and warm skin, and he was even a little envious that the surface was smooth unlike his own that was covered in scars.

Daryl groaned when Paul began grinding their cocks together, the friction so good that he closed his eyes and dug his fingers into Paul's flesh.

Paul reached behind their bodies and wrapped a hand around both of their cocks, and Daryl moaned his hips jerking into the touch of Paul's soft and warm hand, but he desperate for more. He shoved his face into Paul's neck and bit at it, Paul let out a startled gasp before groaning and tugging Daryl's hair playfully.

"Come on," Daryl said after a few minutes, his cock was painfully hard, and even though Paul was jerking them both off, it wasn't enough.

"Want my fingers?" Paul asked, propping himself up on his elbow and looking down at him, the pupils of his gorgeous eyes blown wide.

Daryl hummed, reaching up to grab the back of Paul's neck, "Your fingers, then your dick," he said, and Paul smirked before leaning down to kiss him.

Paul sat back on his ankles, and Daryl took deep breaths as he looked at him, licking his lips in anticipation as he watched Paul open the bottle of lube, his eyes flickering to where the boy's cock laid hard against his thigh every couple of moments.

Paul spread some lube onto his fingers and then wriggled closer in between Daryl's legs. Daryl took a deep breath as Paul placed his fingers at his entrance, and began swirling his fingers around, spreading the lube. Paul looked up at him for confirmation, raising a brow and when Daryl nodded, he gently pushed a finger inside.

Daryl closed his eyes and rested his head back. One finger was easy, especially since he'd been horny lately and fingered himself almost every time he was in the shower or Maggie and Paul wasn't at the apartment.

Paul moved the finger in and out a couple of times, "Tell me when you want another?" he said.

"Another," Daryl said immediately.

Paul chuckled at his reaction, "Eager baby," he said and pushed a second finger inside. It was a bit more of a stretch but wasn't uncomfortable and Daryl ground against it, moaning and throwing an arm over his face.

Paul quickly began scissoring his fingers, stretching him out in preparation for a third finger, and then his cock. The stretch made Daryl groan, and his entire body jerked, and he threw his head back when the other boy's fingers pushed against his prostate.

"There it is," Paul said, sounding proud of himself, using the hand that wasn't currently working Daryl's hole to begin pinching and twisting one of his nipples, "You look so fucking sexy like this," he said, and Daryl felt the man's lips on his stomach, licking at the skin and sucking.

"Paul," Daryl moaned several minutes later, his body becoming crazy sensitive as Paul's fingers worked wonders inside of him. "Come on, I need you,"

Paul didn't reply and pulled his fingers, opening his eyes, Daryl saw that Paul was spreading lube over three of his fingers. Paul met his eyes and smiled at him as he began to push the three fingers back inside, and Daryl liked the stretch of it, trying to remain still but his thighs shook.

"You good?" Paul asked once all three fingers were deep inside of him.

Daryl hummed, smirking and rolling his head back against the pillow, pushing down once and moaning happily when Paul got the hint and began thrusting his fingers in and out of him.

Just as Daryl was about to start begging Paul to fuck him, Paul pulled his fingers out and sat back up, "Do you want me to wear a condom?" he asked as he stroked his own cock, his hips giving little jerks every couple of moments.

"Already knocked up," Daryl replied.

Paul snorted a laugh and reached for the lube, "And I suppose we're both clean," he said, opening the lid and beginning to spread it over his dick, and Daryl couldn't wait to have it inside of him again.

Daryl opened his arms when Paul crawled on top of him, and wrapped his arms around Paul's shoulders, pressing their lips together as Paul got himself settled and placed the head of his cock at Daryl's open hole, and slowly began pushing inside.

Daryl groaned and broke the kiss, rolling his head back and squeezing his eyes closed, and Paul took to kissing at his exposed throat gently. The stretch of Paul's cock burned a little, but he loved it, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Paul grabbed Daryl's jaw and kissed him again, their tongues sliding together and lips creating soft smacking noises.

"Want me to move?" Paul asked a few moments later, and Daryl immediately nodded, spreading his legs further and moving his hips to Paul's waist and he held his hips firmly.

Paul began thrusting slowly, his cock dragging against his walls and his body slowly becoming accommodated to the stretch.

"Fuck you feel amazing, baby," Paul whispered, his voice strained, propping himself up on his elbows so that he could look down at him as he fucked into him.

"Say the same to you," Daryl groaned, and closed his eyes tightly, just waiting for the moment that Paul's perfect cock would brush his sweet spot.

That moment came a few moments later when Paul had built up a proper rhythm, sliding his cock inside until he was completely buried inside of him, and then pulling out until only a few inches were left inside, repeating the process over and over, making changes in speed that were driving Daryl crazy in the best possible way.

He cried out loudly and pulled Paul closer to him, "Fuck, sweetheart, fuck me, come on," he whimpered out, sliding his hands downwards to grab himself to handfuls of Paul's muscled ass, pulling him deeper into his body.

Paul moaned and leaned down to kiss him for a few moments, it was messy with too much teeth and tongue, "Whatever you want, baby," he said, and began thrusting into him harder and faster, and Paul's cock was nailing against his prostate with every thrust.

Daryl could feel his legs shaking, and his orgasm began bubbling up in his stomach, and before he knew it, he was sitting right on the edge. "I'm so close, please, Paul. Fuck," he whined.

Paul grunted and reached down between their bodies and wrapped his hand around Daryl's cock, and began pumping it in time with his thrusts, "Baby come on, I got you," he whispered into his ear, and it was like it pulled a trigger for Daryl. He moaned loudly as his come spurted out of his cock and all Paul's hand and his own stomach.

"Paul," he whimpered, the intensity of his orgasm making his body shake.

Paul let out a loud groan, and buried his face in Daryl's neck, biting at the flesh harshly as he began to come.

Daryl spent time getting his breath back while Paul came down from his orgasm, gently trailing his hands over the younger boy's back and shoulders. Paul propped himself up again a few moments later, gently pulled out and then rolled off his body and onto the mattress beside him.

Daryl bit his lip at the feeling of Paul's come slipping out of him, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he had a fantasy of Paul licking it out of him.

"I reckon that was better than the first time," Paul said, still a little breathless.

Daryl chuckled and nodded in agreement, "Definitely," he replied, and then rolled over and snuggled up to Paul's chest.

Paul wrapped both arms around him and kissed the top of his head, "You okay?" he asked.

Daryl nodded, yawning once and then forcing himself to sit up, "I'm perfect," he said, "I need to shower, I'll be back in a couple of minutes," he said, standing up from the bed, finding his legs a little shaky.

"I'll come," Paul said and began sitting up.

"Don't worry," Daryl said, smiling at him. Now a little shy, held his hands in front of his now soft cock, "You've already showered, keep the bed warm, I'll be back in a few minutes," he said.

Paul smiled but began crawling under the covers, "Don't take too long," he said.

Daryl blushed a little and proceeded to leave the bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Daryl turned to the bedroom ten minutes later, wearing only a pair of sweats and immediately joined Paul in the bed, grinning at how cute and sleepy he appeared.

Daryl settled on his side, and Paul crawled up behind him. Daryl jumped when he felt the man's fingers touch the scars that littered his back. Daryl tensed and squeezed his eyes closed but didn't move away.

"Paul," Daryl whispered softly.

"He's evil," Paul said, snuggling closer to him so that his chest was pressed to Daryl's back, and he threw an arm over his stomach, holding his hand. "You didn't deserve what he did to you, he didn't deserve to have someone as amazing as you for a son,"

Daryl felt tears stinging his eyes, "I want to be better than he was," he said.

Paul pressed a kiss against his shoulder, "And you will be. You'll be an amazing daddy to our baby Daryl, and I'm gonna try my best to be the same. We're going to be good parents, I promise we will," he told him, his hands gently stroking over his skin and calming him down.

Daryl rolled over so that he was facing Paul, and gently cupped his cheek, found them watering like his own. They stared into each other's eyes, and Daryl took a deep breath, trailing his fingers through Paul's beard.

"I think I love you," Daryl forced himself to say and saw the surprise that came over Paul's face. "I've had a crush on you almost since you moved to our old town, but since I found out I was pregnant and with how you treat like I'm so important…"

"You are so important," Paul whispered, pulling Daryl to him and kissing his forehead, "I love you, Daryl," he whispered.

Daryl grinned and buried his face in Paul's neck, pressing kisses against the warm skin. Paul laughed softly, and the two of them held each other close as they slowly fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters a bit shorter, but fluffy as hell x

Daryl woke up slowly, blinking the fuzziness out of his eyes and stretching his arms above his head. He rolled over in the warm bed, intending to snuggle up against his boyfriend, but groaned when he was met with nothing but cold sheets.

He tore his eyes open and looked around the bedroom, and the only sign of Paul he found was the crumbled pair of boxers on the floor. He moved his eyes to the alarm clock on the nightstand, he raised his brows seeing that it was quarter past nine, meaning Paul had left for work over an hour ago. It was a Saturday, so Daryl had the day off and therefore hadn't been woken up by Paul.

He rolled over in the big bed again, stretching out and pulling Paul's pillow to his face, smiling at the faint scent of vanilla shampoo. Daryl much preferred being in the big bed rather than on the pull-out couch. It had been a few weeks since he and Paul had slept together for the second time, and officially became a couple, and Paul hadn't let Daryl sleep on the couch since.

Daryl rolled over again and grabbed his phone off the nightstand, checking the time he decided that he should probably get up and have something to eat, it was almost ten.

He left the bedroom and entered the main part of the apartment, while he'd usually see Maggie curled up on the couch studying with a mug of coffee on a Saturday morning, she had driven back to Georgia last night to spend the weekend with Hershel and Beth. Paul had wanted to go with her but didn't want to ask for time off work so early, and Daryl still refused to go back, and Paul didn't want to leave him.

He ran a hand through his hair and yawned as entered the kitchen, coming to a stop in front of the fridge and grinning at the sight of the note that had been left there in Paul's pretty cursive handwriting; _leftover pancakes for you to warm up x._ Daryl immediately opened the fridge and pulled out the plate with pancakes on it, a large stack of them that he knew would fill him up.

He chose not to heat them up, quite liking how they tasted cold, and he grabbed a bottle of maple syrup from the cupboard, setting them both down on the counter. He frowned as he looked around the room, searching for Paul's laptop so that he could look at some baby websites while he ate. He spotted it on the coffee table and made his way over, picking it up. As he was making his way back to his pancakes, he caught a glance of himself in the full-length mirror that hung by the TV.

He was standing side on, and his eyes very quickly fell to his stomach. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of boxers, and he could clearly see the tiny bump that rested just above his waistband. The bump was so small that nobody would have known it was from a pregnancy unless they had been told that he was carrying. He tentatively placed to fingers over the bump, feeling the firmness of it beneath his hands. He brushed his fingers over it and smiled softly.

"Hey little baby," he whispered, "You're finally growing now, huh? Not gonna be able to keep you a secret much longer," he thought allowed as he pulled his phone from where it was tucked into his boxers and opened the camera. He took a picture of his bump in the mirror, "Let's send that to your daddy, hmm?" he told the bump as he sent the photo off to Paul.

He admired his bump for a few more minutes, and then made his way back to his pancakes.

Paul's reply came an hour later when Daryl had eaten and was spread out over the couch watching a David Attenborough documentary.

 **_Paul 10:43am-_ **  
_Holy shit! Look at our baby!_

 _ **Daryl 10:44am-** _  
_I'm about thirteen weeks now, just gonna keep getting bigger from here._

 _ **Paul 10:46am-** _  
_That's a good thing, means the baby's healthy! Anyway, I've got to get back to work, I'll see you this afternoon._

Daryl chose not to reply, and went back to his show, keeping one hand over his belly.

 

* * *

 

Daryl was woken up from his nap by the door to the apartment opening, and he looked over from where he was still spread out on the couch, watching as Paul entered the apartment, still wearing his martial arts uniform.

"Hi," Daryl greeted him, adjusting himself against the pillows.

Paul smiled wide at him, and dropped his bag onto the kitchen counter, "Hey sweetheart," he greeted him as he made his way over, quickly sitting down on the couch beside his legs. "Can I see?" he asked.

Daryl nodded and pushed his shirt up to just below his nipples, allowing Paul to see his stomach. Paul's hands immediately went to his belly, resting over to tiny bump as a broad smile lit up his face.

"Can you feel it?" he asked.

Paul nodded, "Yeah," he replied quickly, "Makes it feel more real, huh?" he said.

Daryl nodded, taking a deep breath and placing one of his hands on Paul's thighs and giving it a squeeze. "Right now," Daryl started, and Paul met his eyes, "The excitement's overtaking the fear," he said, smiling softly.

Paul smiled back, "For me too," he whispered, drawing patterns with his fingers over Daryl's tiny bump, "I can't wait to meet him," he said.

"How do you know it's a boy?" Daryl asked, smirking a little.

Paul shrugged, and his cheeks flushed a little "I don't know. It just kind of became a habit that I keep thinking of them as a boy," he replied. "What about you?"

"I don't really care to be honest," Daryl replied, "Just for them to be healthy," he told the younger boy.

"I want that too," Paul said, and then proceeded to lay down on the couch with him, throwing an arm over his stomach and resting his head against his shoulder.

Daryl wrapped his arms around the boy, and held him close, kissing the top of his head and Paul did the same to his collarbones.

Paul took a deep breath, and snuggled against Daryl a little more, "I love you, and I love our baby," he said quietly, fingers continuing to stroke patterns over Daryl's stomach.

A smile played on Daryl's lips, and he closed his eyes, "I love you too," he replied, a blush on his cheeks because he still wasn't used to saying it.

They laid there on the couch together until they fell asleep, napping together for an hour or so before they made themselves get up and change, deciding to go out for dinner because they couldn't be bothered to cook.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is like the fluffiest fic i've ever written.

Daryl sighed happily at the hot water falling over his body, the sound of the shower almost soothing to him. Excitement was bubbling in his stomach, he was four months and two weeks pregnant today, which meant he had another ultrasound, and it was more than likely that they would be able to find out the sex of the baby.

He didn’t mind either way, but he knew that Paul was hoping for a baby boy. Daryl knew that would be pretty cute, especially if the baby took after Paul and would be like a mini him once he was a bit bigger.

He smiled at the thought and ran a hand over his soapy belly, “Would you be like your daddy?” he thought aloud, having picked up the habit of talking to the bump he had that was steadily growing with each day that passed. Paul found it absolutely adorable, but Daryl got embarrassed when he was caught.

He reached for the soap and pumped some onto his hands, spreading it over his collarbones as he continued to think about the baby growing inside of him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening, and he cracked his eyes open. Paul had still been asleep when Daryl got up, and the boy looked so cute and peaceful that he couldn’t bring himself to wake him up.

“Daryl?” Paul called out a few moments later, still sounding sleepy.

Daryl poked his head out from behind the curtain, found Paul standing there waiting for him, still only wearing the boxers that he had gone to sleep in. He had his hands in his hair, yawning as he pulled his hair up into a bun.

“Yeah?” Daryl asked, taking a moment to admire Paul’s torso before meeting his eyes.

Paul gave him a sleepy smile, “Can I join you in there?” he asked.

Daryl grinned and quickly nodded, “Get your ass over here,” he said and then went back under the shower. 

He heard Paul laugh, and then moments later, Paul was joining him in the shower. Daryl couldn’t help himself from looking Paul’s naked body up and down, his pale skin, the disappearing hickey on his neck that Daryl remembered leaving there a couple of days ago.

“Like what you see?” Paul asked cheekily, smirking at him as he stepped under the water.

Daryl rolled his eyes but grabbed Paul’s waist, pulling him close to his body and then leaning down and pressing their lips together. Paul hummed against his lips and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, threading his fingers into his wet hair, the water falling down on top of them.

“Are you excited for today?” Paul asked when their kiss came to an end, stepping back to reach for the bottle of shampoo, pumping some onto his hand.

Daryl nodded and closed his eyes when Paul began massaging the shampoo into his hair, “Yeah, you?” he replied.

“Very excited,” Paul replied, “You know, we need to start going shopping soon,”

“For baby things?” Daryl asked, allowing Paul to push his head under the water to wash out the shampoo.

Paul hummed, and began repeating putting shampoo into his hair, “For baby things, and you’re going to need maternity clothes within the next week I’d say, you’re not even buttoning your jeans up any more, just using a belt to keep them up,” he said, smirking a little at him.

“Calling me fat?” Daryl asked jokingly, one of his hands subconsciously moving to his four-month baby bump and simply holding it.

Paul laughed softly, pushing some of his own wet hair out of his face, “Never, baby,” he said, his own hand joining Daryl’s for a moment, giving it a squeeze over the bump.

 

* * *

 

“You ready to go?” Paul asked, coming out of their bedroom and buttoning up his coat.

Daryl nodded from where he was sat on the couch, “Hold on a sec, just let me save this website,” he said; he’d listened to Paul’s earlier words and was currently looking at baby clothes online, trying to restrain from buying everything that he found even mildly cute.

He closed the lid to the laptop, and placed it on the coffee table, and just as he was about to stand up from the couch, he felt a tiny bump against his stomach. He jumped a little, and stared down at his sweater covered belly, he felt it again and immediately shoved his hand under his sweater, resting it against his warm skin.

“Paul!” he said excitedly when he felt it again against the palm of his hand.

“Yeah?” Paul called, texting on his phone.

“The baby’s kicking! Come here,” He called excitedly, pulling his sweater up completely.

Paul was bounding over to him within seconds, dropping to his knees in front of him and placing both hands on his stomach. “Fuck, where?” he asked, eyes wide as he stared down at Daryl’s stomach.

Daryl grabbed one of Paul’s hands, and moved it to where he had just felt the baby kicking, “Right here,” he said.

“I can’t feel anything,” Paul said a few moments later, the tone of disappointment clear in his voice.

“Give it a second,” Daryl chuckled, placing one hand on the back of Paul’s head and stroking his hair lovingly.

Paul waited, practically rocking on his knees, and then the fluttering in Daryl’s stomach came, and a broad grin spread over the younger man’s face. “Oh my god, that’s amazing,” Paul said softly, “I can’t believe that’s our baby in there,” he whispered.

Daryl laughed softly, “They’re a strong bugger,” he whispered.

Paul smiled up at him, “They’ll kill it at martial arts when they’re old enough for me to start teaching them,” he said, and Daryl grinned at how excited he was.

Paul leaned down and pressed his lips against Daryl’s stomach, kissing it for a few moments and rubbing it affectionately with his hands.

 

* * *

 

“Ow fuck,” Daryl grunted as he laid down.

“You good?” Paul asked, standing beside him and pulling his shirt up for him.

Daryl nodded, “My fucking back just hurts,” he grumbled, resting his hands on his bump.

“I’ll give you a massage tonight,” Paul replied, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles.

Daryl hummed at the idea, smiling at Paul and then turning his head to the door when it opened, and Carol stepped in.

“Hello boys, how are you?” she asked, coming to stop by the ultrasound machine.

“We’re good, Carol,” Daryl replied, adjusting how he was sitting on bench, removing his hands from his stomach so Carol could spread gel over his stomach, wincing at the coldness of it.

“That’s good to hear,” Carol said, smiling as she sat down on the stool, “Everything seem okay with the baby?”

“He started kicking this morning!” Paul said excitedly, placing one hand on Daryl’s head and playing with his hair.

“Oh, that’s great,” Carol said, giving them a wide smile, “You’re eighteen weeks today, so yes, now is about when most people begin to feel the baby kick. They’ll get stronger as the baby gets bigger,” she informed them, and grabbed the wand, pressing it down on his stomach.

The picture came up on the screen, and Daryl’s eyes immediately went to it, smiling widely when he saw the blurry picture of their baby come up, and Paul took his hand.

“Hi, little baby,” Paul said softly, and Daryl tilted his head up, meeting Paul’s eyes and the younger boy met him half way for a kiss.

Carol was quiet for a few moments as she moved the wand around, looking at the baby at different angles, “Everything looks great. Baby’s growing well, they’re a little small, but that’s nothing to worry about; it might grow a bit more rapidly in the coming months or simply be born a bit smaller,”

Daryl swallowed thickly, “Could something go wrong though?” he asked, nerves filling his stomach and Paul stroked his temple.

“I’ll bring you in for a few more ultrasounds, and we’ll keep a closer eye on the baby once they’re born, making sure they gain weight properly and there aren’t any bad signs, but that’s nothing to worry about right now. Some people just make smaller baby’s,” she replied, giving him a warm smile.

Daryl nodded and felt himself relax a little, “Okay,” he said softly.

Paul leaned down and kissed him again, “Don’t stress yourself out about it, sweetheart. Everything will be fine,”

Carol smiled at the both of them, “Now, would the two of you like to know the sex of the baby?” she asked.

“Yes please!” Paul immediately said eagerly, and then looked down at Daryl, “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

Daryl rolled his eyes and smirked, “No, I haven’t changed my mind in the last hour,” he replied.

Paul smiled bright, “Then yes, we’d like to know please,” he said.

“It’s a boy,” Carol told them, grinning to herself.

Paul let out an excited noise and was immediately covering Daryl’s face in kisses, Daryl snorted at him, but felt tears prickling in his own eyes. Daryl tilted his head up, and pressed their lips together firmly, and Paul giggled excitedly against his lips.

“Holy shit, baby,” Paul said, smiling down at him.

“I’ll give you two a minute, I’ll go print of some photos,” Carol said, petting Daryl’s arm and then leaving the room. 

Daryl grinned back up at Paul, cupping the back of his head, “I love you, Paul,” he said.

“I love you,” Paul replied, kissing him again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very long & very adorable update! SO MUCH FLUFF

Daryl huffed as he looked at himself in the full-length mirror that sat in his and Paul's bedroom. He'd just showered, washed his hair and combed it out and everything, and was trying to find something that would fit his growing body without crying his eyes out. He was almost in his fifth month now; his belly was big, and he had gained weight in pretty much every other area of his body.

He'd been too nervous about going maternity shopping with Paul when the man had offered the previous weekend and had attempted to purchase clothes online instead. He'd bought a single pair of maternity jeans that fit okay-ish, and several pairs of shirts that only fit for a week before his belly once again outgrew them.

He'd managed to get on the navy-blue button-up he'd bought, but it stretched too tight over his stomach, and the buttons were on the verge of popping. He took a deep, shaky breath as he looked at himself, trying to ignore the tears stinging in his eyes as he became increasingly more insecure about his body.

Paul had decided it was a good idea to throw a little informal dinner party, a chance for them to get together with their friends and apparently everyone was also bringing baby gifts for Daryl, despite his protests. Glenn, Aaron, Eric, and Gracie were all coming over, and Paul and Maggie were currently fixing dinner while Daryl got himself ready.

He was still staring at himself when the door to the bedroom opened, and Paul stepped inside, "Hey, sweetheart. What are you doing?" Paul asked softly as he closed the door behind him and walked over to him, placing a hand on his lower back.

"My shirt doesn't fit," Daryl grumbled, meeting Paul's eyes in the mirror and immediately becoming envious of how good the younger boy looked; he had on tight black skinny jeans and a tight grey Henley under a denim jacket.

"That's okay," Paul's said, smiling softly at him and starting to unbutton the shirt for him, turning him to face away from the mirror, "You can just put on one of your stretchy sweaters. You'll still look great," he said.

"I only wear sweaters, wanted to wear something nicer," Daryl grumbled as Paul slid the shirt off his body, folding it and placing it on the bed.

"You have plenty of nice sweaters," Paul said and stepped into the walk-in wardrobe, emerging a few moments later holding a charcoal grey sweater in his hands, "What about this one I bought for you, hmm?" Paul offered, and came to a stop in front of him and slipped the piece of clothing over his head.

Daryl adjusted the placement of the sweater on his body, noticing how prominent his bump looked in the mirror before Paul's large hands covered it. "Looks fine," he grumbled.

Paul chuckled softly as he rubbed the bump, "Both daddy and baby look great," he clarified, leaning up to peck him quickly, "Will you please come shopping with me tomorrow? We both have the day off, and we'll get you some maternity clothes and baby things. We'll have fun, I'll even buy you a sugary hot chocolate with whipped cream," he said, smiling at him.

Daryl rolled his eyes but smiled back, "Fine," he grumbled, fixing his hair before folding his arms over his chest.

"Great!" Paul said happily and took his hand, "Now you can sit down and read one of your books while me and Maggie finish dinner," he told him and led him out of the bedroom.

Daryl did as he was told and spread out on the couch, his stomach growling at the smell of the food Maggie was cooking. She'd been catering to his cravings all throughout the pregnancy, never failing to produce delicious meals that he could eat and completely keep down.

A knock on the door pulled him out of reading his book, and he looked towards it, nerves fluttering in his stomach. Aaron and Eric had never been to their apartment before, despite Daryl having worked for them for three months now, but Glenn had been around plenty of times.

"Can you get that, baby?" Paul asked from where he was turning baking potatoes, and Maggie was too busy making a relish to even notice.

Daryl nodded and folded his page in the book, closing it and placing it down on the coffee table before he walked over to the front door of the small apartment.

He pulled the door open and was immediately met with the sight of Aaron and Eric standing there, and Glenn behind them with Gracie in his arms making faces at the giggling baby.

"Hey," Daryl greeted them, accepting a hug from Aaron.

"How are you?" Aaron asked, petting his back and smiling at him.

"I'm good," Daryl replied and was then pulled into a hug by Eric and Aaron made his way into the apartment, Daryl able to hear Paul and Maggie greeting him.

"Look at the little bump!" Eric said excitedly as he pulled away from their hug, placing a warm hand over his bump and smiling, "Ah, I miss being pregnant," he said.

Daryl laughed softly, not minding the touch of his friend, "Have Aaron knock ya up again then," he joked, and Eric chuckled, looking like he wouldn't mind the idea at all.

"One kid under three is enough at a time!" Aaron called from the kitchen, and Daryl snorted while Eric trotted away to join Aaron in the kitchen.

Daryl was only able to give Glenn a one-armed hug because of the baby in the boy's arms, and Daryl smiled when Gracie held her arms out for him to take her. Their group hung out fairly often, and Gracie was often at the bookstore, so Daryl was well acquainted with the baby.

"Maggie's playing chef," Daryl told Glenn as he took Gracie into his arms, and the one-year-old immediately attempted to latch onto his hair with her small hands, but he stopped her.

"Great!" Glenn said excitedly, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him, "I love her cooking more than anything," he said as the two of them joined the others.

Daryl chuckled, and smiled wide at the sight of his partner and all of his friends chatting; a couple of gift bags having been placed on the coffee table.

"Now," Aaron said once they all settled down from their initial greetings, "I know all of you are underage, so technically I'm breaking the law," he said as he reached into a bag, "But I brought wine," he said, pulling out a large bottle and grinning as he held it up.

"Oh, fuck yeah!" Paul said excitedly, taking the bottle and then stepping over to the cabinet to pull out glasses.

"Leave me out then," Daryl grumbled, bouncing Gracie but he had a grin playing at his lips.

"Sorry Daryl," Glenn said, patting him on the back.

Aaron stepped over to him and reached for Gracie, "You mind if I put her down on the floor to play? She's already eaten," he asked, and Daryl shook his head, stroking Gracie's short blonde hair once she was in Aaron's arms.

He watched as Aaron carried Gracie over to the rug in the living area and sat her down, Eric then taking over a small bag that apparently contained toys to keep the baby entertained.

Daryl watched them with a small smile until an arm wrapping around his waist got his attention. He met Paul's eyes as the boy leaned against him and leaned down to press their lips together softly for a few moments.

"You look beautiful," Paul said quietly, and Daryl rolled his eyes, but kissed him again.

"Yeah, you too," he said, pecking Paul's forehead and then watching with envy as the boy took a sip of his wine.

"Love you," Paul said softly, then strolled over to Aaron and Eric to join them in playing with Gracie.

 

* * *

  

Half an hour later, dinner was finished, and they were all sat around the dining table, Gracie having gotten bored of her toys and was content to instead sit in Eric's lap.

Everyone was happily chatting, except for Daryl who'd been ridiculously hungry by the time the food was ready, and he was too focused shoving his meal into his mouth to be able to keep up with conversation. Nobody seemed to blame him or care about his lack of table manners, however. He was five months pregnant after all.

"So, Eric," Paul said once the previous conversation had died down, enjoying a mouthful of his second glass of wine, much like everyone else, "Do you have any advice for Daryl and me to survive the next four months?" he asked.

Eric smiled at the both of them, and spooned a baked potato into Gracie's mouth, "Well, me and Aaron were ridiculously unprepared. We thought we had more time than what we did; we'll get nursery furniture next week, we'll buy supplies next weekend, no we don't need to do that now. Anyway, Gracie ended up arriving three weeks early, and we had nothing done, made that first week so much harder. Just do your best to be prepared, don't wait until the last minute to get things done,"

Daryl forced himself to stop eating and listen to Eric, nodding as he took the auburn-haired man's words, and sharing a look with Paul.

"Well," Paul began, "Daryl and I are going shopping tomorrow to get some maternity clothes, furniture, and supplies," he explained as he cut off a chunk of his steak.

"That mall a couple of blocks over has some really nice shops, everything we bought came from there, except for a couple of things online," Aaron told them.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah, that's where we were planning on going, it's the closest, make it easier to get everything back here," he replied.

"Oh," Paul said from where he was sat beside him, turning to face Maggie who sat at the head of the table, "I completely forgot to ask, are we okay to borrow your car tomorrow?" he asked her.

Maggie nodded and tucked some hair behind her ear as she swallowed her mouthful of food and faced Glenn, "As long as you're okay to give me a ride to class tomorrow?" she said.

Glenn smiled at her like she was the best thing he'd ever seen. It was Daryl's understanding that the boy didn't understand his luck when it came to the fact that he was dating Maggie. "Of course, I'll be heading there anywhere," he replied.

"We're all sorted then!" Paul said, having some more of his wine and giving Daryl a smile.

Eric chuckled at them, "You two are going to love it, honestly,"

Daryl looked at him with a quirked brow, "What? Shopping to see what will fit my fat ass?" he grumbled.

"Hey!" Paul exclaimed from beside him, "Your ass is not fat, it is wonderful, and I love it," he said, leaning over to peck his cheek and squeeze his thigh for emphasis.

Everyone laughed, and Daryl's cheeks flushed a deep red as he nudged Paul off of him and continued to eat his food, while quietly appreciating that Paul didn't seem to care about Daryl's prominent weight gain.

"I meant," Eric began, "The two of you are going to love being dads. It really is the best thing," he said, and his eyes met Daryl's, "All the shit you'll go through in this pregnancy will be entirely worth it after the baby's born. And on the upside, unlike women, we don't have to go through labor and then pushing the baby out, we get to be nice and drugged up,"

Daryl snorted a laugh and grinned at the man, "Well, that is true," he said, and he turned to face Paul, "And you get to see me with my stomach all cut open, enjoy that," he joked, smirking at his boyfriend.

"I don't have to look," Paul said, looking a little sick at the thought of it.

"You will," Aaron said, "It's inevitable, and yes, it is kind of terrifying,"

"This is such pleasant dinner conversation," Maggie chuckled and sent everyone into laughter again.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, Aaron helped Maggie clean up while Daryl was directed to sit himself down on the couch and get comfortable as he and Paul had to open presents. Though he still felt that it was unnecessary, he was a little excited about them, they would be the first thing he got for the baby. Well, he'd gotten a couple of things for the baby online but were yet to arrive. He couldn't lie, the thing he was most excited for from his purchases was his pregnancy pillow that was supposed to be more comfortable on his back.

Eric was sat in one of the armchairs breastfeeding Gracie, and Paul and Glenn were chatting about some tv show that they both watched. Daryl was just happy to watch his friends.

Once their dinner was cleaned up, everyone sat down in the living room, Paul sitting right beside Daryl, throwing an arm around his shoulders and rubbing a hand over his knee. Aaron remained seated on the floor beneath Eric and Glenn and Maggie on the bean bags.

"Let's start!" Aaron said excitedly, knee walking to the coffee table and grabbing one of the two bags that sat there, "This one is mine and Eric's," he said as he handed the bag to Daryl.

Daryl took the green gift bag and opened it, pulling out a card which he handed to Paul, and the two of them read their congratulations from Aaron and Eric together before Daryl dug into the bag again. It turned out to be a selection of three beanies all for a newborn, all different shades of blue and Daryl smiled at how tiny they were, along with a couple of pacifiers.

"Those are so cute!" Paul said excitedly, stroking a finger over the warm material, "Oh my god, I can't believe he's going to be this small," he whispered.

Daryl smiled, "Probably even smaller," he chuckled, remembering Carol's words of how they were likely going to have a small baby.

Eric giggled, "He'll probably only fit into them for like two weeks, but still," he said.

"Thank you," Daryl said, smiling at both Aaron and Eric as he carefully handed the items to Paul who placed them down on the couch beside them.

Aaron handed them the next bag, "That one's mine," Glenn said from where he was snuggled up against Maggie.

Daryl handed the bag to Paul, "You can open this one," he said, and rested against the boy's shoulder to watch him pull out the items in the bag.

Both of them immediately snorted at the three onesies that Glenn had gotten them, each with a different amusing phrase printed on them, but Daryl's favorite was the one that was obviously directed at Paul. The onesie was plain white, with the words 'Daddy's little beard puller' printed on the top of it, and a cartoon beard beneath it.

"Where did you manage to find these?" Paul laughed, as both he and Daryl smiled at Glenn.

"I got them online, was worried they wouldn't arrive in time, but they came yesterday afternoon," Glenn explained, grinning and appearing obviously proud of himself.

"My turn!" Maggie exclaimed excitedly, climbing out from under Glenn and hurrying to her bedroom, and Paul and Daryl took the time to thank Glenn while they waited for her to reappear. Maggie returned a few moments later, carrying a gift-wrapped square object and she handed it to Paul before flopping down on Glenn again.

Daryl allowed Paul to open the present from Maggie as well but watched eagerly as the paper was torn away. Daryl grinned wide as a book was revealed and gently ran his fingers over the glossy cover.

"It's one of those baby milestone books," Maggie explained, a wide smile spread over her face, "I was in Aaron and Eric's place last week buying cooking books and came across it, decided it was pretty perfect,"

Paul smiled wide at his best friend, "It is, thank you," he said softly, looking at the first few pages of the book.

Daryl rested his chin on Paul's shoulder, kissing his neck quickly, "You get to fill it all in, my hand writing's gross," he joked, and everyone laughed, except for little Gracie who had finished feeding and had fallen asleep against Eric's chest.

 

* * *

 

Once everyone had left, except for Glenn who was staying the night, Paul and Daryl retired to their bedroom.

Daryl stripped himself naked and crawled straight into bed, not bothered to get into pajamas, and Paul laughed at him but did the same.

Paul snuggled up against Daryl, resting his head on his chest and splaying his hand over his bump, feeling the baby kick beneath his palm.

"I love you so much," Paul whispered against his skin, sounding as sleepy as Daryl felt.

Daryl grinned and started to play with Paul's hair, trying to ignore the ache in his lower back, "I love you," he whispered.

Paul kissed his peck and then settled, and just a few minutes later, Daryl could tell that the man had fallen asleep. He followed not long after.

 

* * *

 

"A large takeaway hot chocolate, with extra whipped cream please,"

Daryl stood close by his boyfriend's side as the boy ordered him his hot chocolate; he was already feeling a bit nervous being in the crowded mall, especially since he couldn't hide his baby bump anymore. He felt like he was always being stared at. Usually, he wasn't so open with his relationship with Paul in public, because him being gay was another thing that brought him anxiety, but he needed the comfort from the younger boy on that day.

"Try and relax sweetheart," Paul whispered in his ear as they waited for the drink to be ready, his breath warm as it fluttered across his face "Don't worry about anyone else, it doesn't matter what they think. We're here to get things for you and our little baby, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of that," he told him.

Daryl nodded and met Paul's eyes, "I'm tryin'," he mumbled.

"I know," Paul whispered, kissing his cheek, "And you're doing great," he said, smiling at him and then stepping away for a moment when the barista called his name.

Daryl watched as Paul took a sip of the hot drink himself, and then handed it to Daryl, "Thank you," Daryl replied, wrapping his hands around the warm mug and sipping at it, following Paul who had placed both hands on the cart they had collected for themselves and began walking.

They arrived at the maternity store a few minutes later, making their way to the men's section and Paul began sifting through the clothes. Paul didn't seem to mind that Daryl wasn't too interested in shopping for his own clothes, he was happy to stand by the cart and tell Paul what color he liked better when the boy held options up for him.

"Now, you'll have to try the jeans on, okay babe?" Paul said once they reached that section, folding pairs over his arm and raising a brow at Daryl.

Daryl grumbled but agreed, and they made their way to the changing rooms. They left the cart outside, and they both entered the small booth together, Paul holding the maternity jeans and certain shirts that needed to be tried on for Daryl while he got in and out of different items.

They left the store after an hour and a half, with three hundred dollars out of their pockets.

Daryl felt a bit better as they left the store, happy that they had found clothes that would fit him nicely.

They entered the large baby store next and decided it would be best to go to the baby furniture section first.

"So, we have plenty of time before the store closes, so we don't have to rush," Paul said, waving at the woman behind the counter who smiled at them.

Daryl nodded in agreement, "I made a list of things we need," he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened up the notes app.

"Read it to me," Paul said as they entered the main furniture section, coming to a stop.

"We need, a crib for our bedroom, a bassinet for out in the main part of the apartment because I don't want him to be by himself," Daryl said, ignoring the way that Paul was grinning at him. "Bedding, blankets, onesies, shirts, pants, socks, booties, beanies, pacifiers, a changing table, I want a rocking chair if we can afford it, a separate storage closest and chest of drawers 'cause we don't have room in ours, bottles, a breast pump, nipple cream, stretch mark cream, bibs, a bottle warmer, some toys, a carrier, a stroller, a monitor, a car seat, a diaper bag, a mobile, and some other little things," Daryl finally finished, looking back to Paul.

Paul stared at him with a raised brow, "Fuck," he said, "This baby is going to make us go broke," he said.

Daryl shrugged, "We need it," he mumbled.

"Well, we don't need to get everything today… some things can wait until closer till the baby's born,"

Daryl scrunched his nose as he rested his hands on his belly and began looking around at the furniture that surrounded them, "I'd feel better if we get everything while we're here, look at what Aaron and Eric told us last night? They kept thinking that they had time, but they didn't! We need to be organized," he explained, stepping over to a bassinet that had caught his eye.

"Well, it's not like a rocking chair, and a bassinet is completely necessary…" Paul said, obviously the issue of money worrying him.

"Then I'll fucking pay for them, I don't care!" Daryl snapped, surprised at his own outburst of emotions, but he'd had mood swings for the past month. "Stress ain't good for the baby, so I ain't gonna be stressed about this. The plan was to go halves on everything, but I'll pay for certain things if you don't want to spend the money," he grumbled, ignoring the lump in his throat because now apparently he wanted to cry.

"Daryl…" Paul said softly, stepping up behind him and placing a hand on his lower back.

"Go away," Daryl grumbled, walking away from him and further down the aisle, even though he really liked the bassinet he'd been looking at.

He heard Paul sigh heavily, "Okay. I'll give you a minute," the boy said, "I'm going to go and see if this place does deliveries, and if they'll split on two different cards," he said, and Daryl could hear him walking away.

"Asshole," Daryl mumbled as he stepped back to the bassinet that he liked, even though he knew Paul hadn't actually done anything wrong and was trying his best to be patient.

Daryl knew that he could afford to spend several grand and be fine, especially since he could work right up until the last couple of weeks of his pregnancy (unless advised otherwise by Carol, but so far, she said everything looked fine) and his maternity leave was going to be paid. Paul also had a similar amount of savings to himself, give or take, and earned only a little bit less money, but his paternity leave was going to be also paid. So as long as they both kept note of how much things cost, and used the calculators in their phone, they'd be fine.

Daryl looked at the bassinet in front of him, the material was a soft peach color, and it had a little stuffed kitten hanging from the top of the cover. He took a moment to search of the brand and item name on his phone and read several reviews when he found that they were all good, he grabbed a nearby box containing the bassinet and placed it into the trolley.

He was looking at changing tables when Paul appeared again, "This color's nice," Paul said, and Daryl turned around to find that he was looking at the bassinet.

"There was a yellow and blue version too, but I liked that one better," Daryl replied.

Paul nodded and stepped over to him, "They deliver, and they'll split our cards," Paul said, "So we'll just take home the little things today, and they'll deliver all the furniture and have employees bring it up to our apartment, doesn't cost much extra," he explained, wrapping an arm around his lower back and kissing his cheek softly.

Daryl nodded in understanding, "Okay. What one of these do you like better?" he asked, motioning to the two display changing tables in front of him. Both were white, one had open shelves beneath the actual changing part on top, while the second had drawers.

"This one looks safer," Paul said, as he stepped over to the one with drawers. "It looks like it would be harder for the baby to roll off it," he said, and what he said was true, there was a slight railing.

"Yeah," Daryl said, "You like the white, or there's a couple of other colors?" Daryl said as he stepped over the boxes.

"The white will go best with the rest of our bedroom," Paul said.

Daryl nodded in agreement but realizing the changing table box would be heavier than what the bassinet had been, he allowed Paul to pick it up.

"Cribs?" Paul asked, and Daryl nodded, walking ahead while Paul pushed the cart.

They ended up selecting one of the more expensive cribs, but it could also convert into a toddler bed which would save them money down the line. It also had good reviews. After the cribs, they got a chest of drawers, and the rocking chair that Daryl wanted, a stroller and a car seat. Following those were the more boring things like bottles, bottle warmer, a monitor, a breast pump, pacifiers, and diapers.

They were almost bouncing with excitement as they made their way to the bedding and clothing section, as they both decided those were the cutest things they could possibly buy.

"I like the whole woodland creature theme," Daryl said softly as they looked at a basket of stuffed toys, picking up a stuffed red fox, "It reminds me of the woods back in Georgia. That was the only thing I liked there," he said.

Paul nodded in agreement, "I was hopin' you'd like it. I think it's adorable," he replied, holding up a package of sheets that had cartoon deer printed on them.

They both grinned at each other and went their separate ways through the shelves to select different items, many of which following the woodland creature theme, but all were adorable.

By the time they were finished in the baby store, there was a severe dent in their savings, but they had broad smiles on their faces and were full of excitement about their baby.

 

* * *

 

They were both exhausted by the time they got home to the apartment and carried everything that they weren't having delivered into the bedroom, placing the items in the corner that they had designated as the 'nursery area' for the baby.

They laid down in bed together after heating up leftovers from the house party the night previous, showering and saying goodnight to Maggie.

Daryl crawled on top of Paul's body and leaned down to kiss him, grinning when he felt Paul's hands land on his hips.

"I don't mean to be an asshole," Daryl said softly, when they pulled apart, cupping Paul's jaw and stroking his fingers over the coarse hair of his beard.

Paul smiled at him, "Don't worry about it," he said softly.

Daryl leaned down and kissed him again, and the two kissed each other passionately until Daryl's back started to hurt too badly from the angle, and he rolled back down onto the mattress and onto his side facing Paul.

Daryl adjusted his legs, and his thigh brushed against Paul's cock, which like his own was half hard.

"I ain't really in the mood or got the energy… sorry," Daryl mumbled as he played with Paul's hair.

Paul smiled at him and pecked his lips gently, "Daryl," he said firmly, his blue-green eyes boring into his own, "Don't you ever be sorry for not wanting to have sex, okay?" he said.

Daryl nodded immediately, "That goes for you too," he replied.

"Deal," The other boy said, tucking the covers up around them and they both rolled onto their backs and settled. They didn't do too much snuggling any more as Daryl's back couldn't handle the positions, and he was most comfortable laying on his back with his own space to stretch out, but on good days they'd fall asleep tangled together, or on okay-ish days, Daryl was okay with Paul snuggling up against his chest.

Daryl found himself looking at Paul, the man's peaceful face as he closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. He was just so beautiful.

"Paul?" he said softly.

Paul hummed and opened his eyes, turning his head to face him, "Yeah, sweetheart?" he asked.

"I know a baby name I like," he said softly.

Paul smiled at him, "Yeah? What is it?" he asked, rolling onto his side of propping himself up on his elbow. He placed a hand over his bump and rubbed it, and Daryl grinned when the baby kicked against his palm.

"I wanna name him Paul," Daryl replied quietly, "I love you so much, and I wouldn't have him without you, and you saved my life by getting me out of Georgia. I really want to name him after you," he whispered.

Paul stared at him for a few moments, "Daryl…" he said, "It means a lot to me that you want to name the baby after me, but… I don't like my name,"

"I love your name," Daryl quickly replied, scooching closer to Paul and throwing an arm over his waist, "And it's more than a name to me. It stands for everything that you are. That you're strong, beautiful, smart, a badass, caring, everything I could ever want," he explained as he looked into the boy's eyes.

"Daryl," Paul whispered, his voice hitching once, and he laughed at himself as he wiped at his wet eyes. Paul then reached up and cupped the back of his neck, "If it is something you really want, then okay," he said, his thumb stroking at the baby hairs on the back of his neck.

"I love you," Daryl said with a grin and kissed him again until Paul forced their lips apart.

"But," Paul said, "He's not going to be a Junior. He should be able to be his own person, you know?" he explained, and Daryl nodded in agreement.

"We could find a middle name that we really like, and if he could go by that if he decided he didn't like Paul when he got older," Daryl suggested.

Paul hummed, "That's a good idea," he said, "You know if the middle name started with J, still not Junior, but we could call him PJ for short," he suggested.

Daryl smiled, "I like that," he said enthusiastically, and then the two of them snuggled up again.

Daryl placed his hands on his belly, "Little baby Paul," he whispered, stroking his bare stomach and trying to stop the tears that were welling up his eyes.

Paul laughed at him and kissed forehead, "Yeah, our little baby," he whispered.

"I can't wait to meet him," Daryl whispered, closing his eyes and settling against Paul, needing the touch that night as his exhaustion catching up with him.

"Me too," Paul whispered, "You're doing such a good job, Daryl. Keeping him safe and warm in your tummy, and even though he's a little small, you've made him grow strong and healthy, and he's going to be so perfect,"

Daryl felt a tear leak down his cheek, and he sniffled, "Fuck you, I was tryin' not to cry," he grumbled.

Paul laughed, "Oh, hush sweetheart," he whispered as he stroked his hair and used his other hand to rub Daryl's bed.

Daryl tried not to cry, but a sob worked its way out of his throat, and he moved even closer to his boyfriend, hiding his face in the boy's neck and wrapping his arms around him.

"Daryl," Paul said almost fondly, "I love you so much, my sweet boy," he whispered, kissing the top of his head.

"I love you too," Daryl said, forcing himself to stop sobbing, "You and our baby are the best things that ever happened to me, thank you for giving him to me," he said, losing control of his emotions, and he was glad that he was able to blame it on the pregnancy when he got embarrassed in the morning.

"Daryl, baby," Paul said, making Daryl look him in the eye, "You're giving me this baby too, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for that," he whispered.

Paul stroked Daryl's hair and sang softly in his ear as he stroked his baby bump until Daryl stopped crying, falling asleep in Paul's arms. Paul fell asleep not long after him, and the two had a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya, so I've decided that the baby's name was gonna be Paul since I wrote the first chapter, but I haven't decided on a middle name yet. Feel free to leave suggestions, but remember it has to start with J! x


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet x

Daryl's eyes could have almost rolled back in his head with pleasure. He was laying on his and Paul's bed, completely naked and spread out, and Paul had been massaging him for the last hour.

Paul covered him in oil, started at his neck and worked his way down to where he currently was at his swollen feet. Paul had even gone as far to massage his prostate too, giving him a fantastic orgasm that slowly built in his stomach until it crashed over him without his cock even being touched, making a mess of himself that Paul later licked off of him.

"You are possibly the most precious thing I have ever seen," Paul said, pressing his thumbs firmly into the soles of Daryl's feet, pulling a groan from his lips.

Daryl laughed softly, and smiled down at his partner, "Love you," he replied and felt fondness when Paul's lips spread in a broad smile and his eyes lit up with happiness.

"I love you too," Paul said, blowing at a loose strand of hair that had fallen from his messy bun and into his eyes, "How's your head?" he asked, referencing to the headache that had kept Daryl home from work that day.

Daryl hummed and rested his hands on his big belly, smiling a little at his seven-month baby kicking against his hands, "Better than what it was this morning, hopefully, it will be gone by tomorrow morning," he said.

"I hate that this pregnancy's causing you to suffer in some form," Paul sighed, a frown on his plump lips beneath his beard as he moved his hands a little higher to Daryl's ankles, "The back pain, the headaches, the mood swings, fatigue, nausea, cramps. I really hate seeing you uncomfortable or in pain, Daryl," he whispered, stroking up Daryl's calves and giving him a sad smile.

Daryl reached down with one hand and stroked along Paul's cheek, "Hush," he said, "Think how worth it it's going to be, hmm? Sure, it sucks now, but we're gonna have a son by the end of it,"

Paul's lips twitched in a small smile, and he kissed the inside of Daryl's wrist, "I suppose that is true, and speaking of our little son," he began, sitting back on his heels and grabbing Daryl's hips, wrapping them around his own and pulling him closer, "We don't have a middle name,"

Daryl rumbled a little, ran his hands up and down Paul's arms while the other boy's own drew patterns on his swollen belly.

"Well, neither of us can choose between Jaspar and Jackson," he said.

Paul hummed, "I know, I don't know what one I like better,"

"I keep changing my mind," Daryl mumbled, "But, I've been leaning towards Jaspar more recently," he said, smiling when Paul started massaging his feet again.

Paul grinned, "Me too. I think it sounds better- Paul Jasper," he said.

Daryl smiled even wider, "Say it with Rovia at the end,"

"What?" Paul asked surprised, and looking down, Daryl found that the man had wide eyes and an expression of shock spread over his face, "Since when is he Rovia?" he asked.

Daryl frowned at him, "I don't want him to have my last name 'cause it's my dad's, and I don't want my son to have anything to with him. I hate that name every time I hear it, I don't want to associate that with our baby," he explained, and the baby kicked firmly against his stomach, "I thought you'd like naming him Rovia?"

Paul blinked at him a couple of times, "No- I… I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd want to give him the last name Rovia, thought you'd want him to be a Dixon since he's already named after me,"

Daryl shook his head, "Nah, I want him to be a Rovia; if you're okay with that," he replied.

Paul smiled warmly at him, "I'd love that, sweetheart," he whispered and pecked Daryl's knee.

Daryl lips spread in a wide grin, and he sat up, reaching for Paul so that the man climbed up the bed to join him. Daryl pressed their lips together gently, and stroked his hands through Paul's long hair, and then kissed his forehead when they tore apart.

"Say his full name now," Daryl said quietly.

"Paul Jaspar Rovia," Paul said softly a few moments later, licking his lips and knocking their foreheads together.

Daryl smiled, and he could help the tears that pricked in his eyes, "I love it. I want that to be his name," he whispered.

Paul nodded, "I love it too," he whispered and used his thumbs to wipe at the tears that leaked out of Daryl's eyes and slipped down his cheeks, "Don't cry my love, happy moment,"

"I cry at everything now," he replied, and it was true; his hormones were going crazy for the past couple of months, and probably would continue to do so until a few weeks or months until after he gave birth.

"Well, let's hope that most of the time they're happy tears," Paul said as he moved his hands and placed them on Daryl's bare stomach, smiling at the feeling of the baby kicking beneath his hands.

Daryl's hands joined Paul's, "Yeah. The other times it's because you piss me off for no rational reason," he said.

Paul laughed lightly and rested his head on his shoulder, "Like how yesterday you didn't speak to me for several hours because I called you Daryl instead of baby," he recounted.

Daryl's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, and he shoved his fingers into Paul's side playfully, "I like when you call me baby," he attempted to defend himself.

"I know you do, baby," Paul responded, and tilted his head to start placing butterfly kisses all over his neck, "My sweet precious baby that I love so much, and I can't wait to meet our perfect mini human that is half of each of us,"

Daryl's heart warmed at Paul's words even though the man was playing around, and then he proceeded to fall backward on the bed; his grip on the younger man's hips causing him to fall down with him. Neither of them minded that Daryl was covered in oil.

 

* * *

 

 

"How's it going?" Daryl asked as he walked into the nursery.

Maggie had moved out of the apartment and into one that was closer to campus with Glenn. The two had been together almost six months now, and some might have thought they were moving too quickly, but Daryl knew that the couple was perfect for each other.

It was strange at first not having Maggie at the apartment all of the time; but Daryl eventually got used to it, as did Paul. It was the best thing to with Daryl and Paul's baby arriving soon. They moved all of the stuff from their bedroom and into Maggie's as it had the ensuite, and used the room that used to be theirs as the nursery.

He also liked that he didn't have to worry about Maggie being kept awake because of their screaming offspring during the night. Maggie obviously wouldn't mind, but with her being in college, it wasn't practical.

"Good," Paul replied, smiling up at him from where he was sat on the floor and putting together Daryl's rocking chair; parts and tools scattered around him.

Daryl helped Paul on and off in constructing the items for the nursery, but he couldn't sit on the floor long because it hurt literally his entire body too much, and he'd been having bad headaches on and off the past couple of days and was under instructions from Carol to stay in a dark room and rest.

"Brought you some food," Daryl said as he handed the plate of grapes to Paul, wishing that he could have been able to stand up long enough to cook the boy a proper lunch.

"Thank you," Paul said and popped a grape into his mouth, and then looked around the nursery, "It's coming together isn't it?"

Daryl hummed as he looked around the room. The crib was set up and sat under the window, but Daryl was yet to make up the bedding. A giant stuffed bear that Daryl had impulsively purchased online sat beside it. Shelves had been set up, and Daryl had begun organizing the cute clutter items on it; he may have been spending a ridiculous amount of time on Pinterest. The changing table and dressers hadn't been constructed yet, but their spots along the wall were still clear against the wall. The floor looked bare, which Daryl didn't like, so he had purchased a rug online and was waiting for it to arrive.

"It is," Daryl agreed and then met Paul's blue-green eyes again, "In a couple of weeks the only thing missing from it will be the baby," he said.

Paul snorted a laugh and chewed at couple more grapes before picking up his screwdriver again, "Now, you go and get your pretty little ass back into bed. You've already been up too much today," he said.

Daryl grumbled a little but knew that Paul was right, so he reached out with one hand and stroked it through Paul's hair before he left the nursery and headed back into his and Paul's bedroom. He climbed under the covers of the unmade bed and settled down, cuddling Paul's pillow to him so that he could smell the boy's shampoo.

He smiled as he held his hands over his stomach and felt his baby kick, and he could hear Paul swearing from the nursery as he struggled to put things together. Daryl wished that the boy could be in bed with him, holding him close and kissing him gently. Well, if he was wishing for things, he'd wish that he wasn't on a mild form of bedrest so that he could be with Paul and help him properly instead of bringing him the occasional snack or only helping for a couple of minutes before he got so uncomfortable he had to return to bed again.

He curled up under the blankets a little more, and stroked one of his hands over his stomach, grinning to himself when he felt the baby kick against his hand, "It's okay. I know you'll be worth it," he whispered into the quiet room, and then closed his eyes and forced himself to go to sleep. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who arrives this chapter....

Christmas had come and gone, and it was a new year, late March to be exact. Daryl had ended up being brave enough to travel back to Georgia for Christmas, where he, Paul, Maggie, and Glenn had spent it at Hershel's house. It had taken weeks for him to decide whether he wanted to or not, and Paul had promised that if Daryl didn't want to go, he wouldn't either. Daryl had said it was okay, but Paul refused to leave his pregnant boyfriend alone on Christmas.

Daryl had been terrified as they drove into his hometown; they'd taken all of the backroads to Maggie's house because he was scared they'd run into his father, and Daryl was glad that Hershel's farm was far out of town and nobody would know that he was there.

In the end, he was incredibly grateful that he decided to go. It was his first proper Christmas, and he was glad that he could spend it with a real family. They watched shitty Christmas movies on Christmas Eve, and Hershel, Beth, Maggie, and Glenn had gone to drive around and look at the decorations on people's houses while Paul and Daryl retired to the spare bedroom they were staying in, and they had slow and loving sex. Christmas morning consisted of opening gifts and exchanging gifts, there were even presents labeled 'Baby Paul', they drank coffee and hot chocolates, and had a big breakfast.

Paul and Daryl had finished the nursery, mostly. Every now and then Daryl changed things around, wanting to make sure it was perfect for the arrival of their baby. Paul laughed at him and told him he was nesting, Daryl's usual response was to glare and throw the nearest, non-harmful object at him.

Daryl was currently sat in the rocking chair of the nursery, holding the stuffed bunny he loved in one of his hands while his other rested over his bare stomach. Paul had gone to shower, and Daryl had gotten lonely on the couch, so he moved to the nursery where he could imagine the baby that would be arriving in a week.

The nursery turned out to be perfect, and it made Daryl so very happy whenever he was inside of it. It was worth all of the money they spent on it, and there was the thought in the back of his head that reminded him that most things were reusable if he and Paul were to have a second child. He knew he shouldn't even be thinking things like that, that he should at least wait for the first one to arrive so he could see how hard it was.

Daryl was lost in a world of daydreams when Paul finally entered the nursery, his hair still wet from his shower, and had to call out to him to get his attention.

"You okay?" Paul asked once he had it.

Daryl nodded and gave him a smile, "Yeah. Just lost in thought," he replied.

Paul hummed and made his way over to him, he brushed his fingers through his hair when he reached him, "Good thoughts I hope?" he said, a frown on his pretty lips and Daryl wanted to kiss it off them.

"Good thoughts," Daryl clarified, giving him a soft smile.

"What about then?" Paul asked.

"Just about the baby," he replied, reaching out to stroke his hand down Paul's thigh, "Being honest, I was thinking about how we'd gone a bit overboard with the nursery, but it doesn't matter 'cause we can reuse it… if we have another kid ya know?"

Paul raised one of his messy brows, "You're already thinking about having a second baby?" he said, sounding surprised.

Daryl hummed, "Well… I dunno, I can't help it. Blame the hormones," he mumbled, and his cheeks heated up.

Paul huffed a soft laugh, "Why don't we just see how we go with the first baby, hmm?" he asked as he continued to play with Daryl's hair.

"Do you want more than one though?" he asked, leaning his head forward and resting it against Paul's bare stomach. He tried to ignore how envious he was that Paul's stomach was flat and covered in abs unlike his own.

Paul sighed heavily, "I don't really know… I guess, yeah. I mean we definitely can't afford more than one right now, and it would be nice to have a house… a big backyard that they can play in, and space for a bedroom each,"

Daryl smiled, "It's a nice thought. I never knew how much I wanted a family until I realized I was pregnant, want to be better than what my dad was,"

"And you will be, sweetheart, you'll be so much better than he is. You're already an amazing father, and he's nothing but dirt. You'll never be anything like him, I can promise you that," Paul told him, dropping down to his knees so that he was at a similar height to Daryl, staring into his eyes and then kissing him.

Daryl kissed Paul back passionately, cupping his cheeks and then pecking his forehead when they pulled apart, "You know you're going to be good too right?" he asked softly.

Paul smiled a little, "I know I'm going to try my absolute best to be. I love our baby so much, and I love you so much," he whispered and then started to kiss down Daryl's neck.

The touch was ticklish, and Daryl squirmed away from him, which caused Paul to laugh and chase him.

 

* * *

 

 

Daryl could feel the nerves swirling in his stomach as he looked at the items on the bench in front of him. It had to be the hundredth time he'd checked the hospital bag, and he knew that Paul had too, but he just needed to see that he had everything.

He spent several minutes going through the items, and then began carefully packing them back into the bag.

"Sweetheart, are you ready to go?" Paul asked as he came out of the bathroom, and then raised an eyebrow at him, "Have you checked that again?"

Daryl grunted and zipped it up, "Just need to make sure," he replied, his voice shaky and his throat was dry.

Paul came up behind him and placed a hand over his huge nine-month belly, "Are you okay?" he asked softly and kissed his cheek.

Daryl sighed heavily, "I'm fucking terrified," he whispered. He'd barely gotten any sleep the previous night, or a couple of nights before that. Their baby was being delivered today, and they were both incredibly excited to meet their child, but the C-section had Daryl a mess of nerves.

"I know you are, baby, and that's perfectly normal. Carol found us a great doctor who's delivered hundreds of babies through C-sections. You're going to be fine, and the baby will be fine. Don't focus on the C-section okay, just focus on that we're meeting our baby in a few hours. Okay?" Paul said, as he carefully turned Daryl around to face him.

"Okay," Daryl whispered and kissed him softly, "Let's go then," he said.

He and Paul had bought themselves a car just a few weeks previous, and it left them with their savings dangerously low, but that they were having the baby, and Maggie had moved out, they needed their own.

Paul helped Daryl into their car when they reached it and then played soft music from his phone as they drove to the hospital.

 

* * *

 

 

"Fuck I'm hungry," Daryl grunted as he sat down on the bed of the hospital room. The room would be where he was staying when he came out of recovery, and he and Paul were soon to head off to get his C-section, but first, he and Paul had to change into gowns, and his nurse had already done some tests and had headed off to get gowns for them to change into.

Paul chuckled softly, "I know sweetheart," he said, "You can eat after the surgery,"

Daryl grumbled a little at that because he was having a C-section he wasn't able to eat or drink anything, and he was absolutely starving.

"How're you feeling?" Paul said after several minutes of silence, sitting down on the bed beside him and cupping his cheek to stroke his thumb over the stubble.

Daryl sighed heavily and rested his forehead against Paul's as he placed both hands over his belly, feeling his baby kick beneath his hands. They got to meet him soon.

"Scared, but excited," He replied, closing his eyes, "But, ready I think,"

Paul kissed him softly and then pulled him into a hug, "Me too," he whispered and stroked his hands up and down his back.

They held each other until the nurse returned, and then they changed into their gowns before they were taken to where Daryl's surgery would take place. Once there, he was sat on the table while nurses checked things in the room and he was told that the doctor, Siddiq, would arrive soon.

Paul was standing in front of Daryl, Daryl's head resting against his stomach as Paul ran his hands through his hair, when the doctor came in.

"Good morning Mr. Dixon and Mr. Rovia," the older man greeted them. They all talked for several long minutes, Siddiq asked about the tests that Daryl had already had taken, and other things that he had experienced during his pregnancy.

Once they were finished with that, Daryl had to face the giant needle that would be stabbed into his body.

Paul took Daryl's hand, "It's okay," he whispered when the wince came over Daryl's face as the needle pinched his skin. It hurt, and he let out several curses as he squeezed Paul's hand harshly and squeezed his eyes closed.

"Great job, Daryl," Siddiq told him, "Now, lay down. We'll put a screen up and wait for the spinal block to take effect before we start," he said.

Daryl did as he was told and laid back, and Paul moved to stand by his head, continuing to stroke through his hair because he knew just how much it comforted him.

"He'll be here soon," Paul whispered as he leaned down to kiss his forehead.

Daryl smiled lazily as he felt the drugs begin to affect his body, and Paul laughed softly at him.

A few minutes later, Siddiq and his team had all gathered at the bottom half of Daryl's body, behind the screen that had been set up so that Daryl couldn't see his own stomach being cut open.

"So, Daryl, you might feel breathless, and you'll feel some pressure, pulling and pushing," Siddiq told him, "You should not feel any pain, but if you do, let us know immediately, do you understand?"

Daryl nodded and looked to Paul for comfort, and the man's blue-green eyes bored into his own immediately. Daryl smiled at him and swallowed the lump in his throat.

 

* * *

 

 

Daryl was frozen as Siddiq moved into his vision and lifted up the baby he held in his gloved hands.

"Oh my god," Paul whispered from beside him, his hand squeezing Daryl's shoulder.

Daryl barely heard him. His focus was on his baby. He was naked, pink, covered in fluid and beginning to screw his face up. He was tiny, not tiny as in all newborns were tiny, but very tiny. It wasn't a surprise, they'd known for months that they'd be having a small baby, but it was different for him to properly see it for himself.

"Here's your baby," Siddiq said with a wide smile, and then a nurse helped him wrap a blanket around the baby while Daryl and Paul watched, "He can go on your chest while we sew you up, and then we'll take him to take his weight and bath him, and do our tests while you're taken back to your room," He explained as he placed the baby on Daryl's chest.

Daryl let out a whimper as one of his hands immediately rested over the baby's back, and Paul leaned down beside him to brush a finger over the baby's cheek.

"Hi, Paul," Daryl whispered, his voice week and shaky with tears as he stared at his baby.

Baby Paul let out his first cry, his face pulling together as his cries began to fill the room.

Paul laughed softly from beside him, "Hi Paul Jaspar, you're so beautiful," he whispered, and then turned his head to kiss the side of Daryl's head, "Isn't he?" he said, and Daryl sobbed again and nodded, "I'm so proud of you Daryl, you're so amazing," he said.

Daryl tore his eyes away from the baby for a moment to look at Paul, "I love you so much," he murmured.

A wide smile spread over Paul's lips, and a tear leaked out of his eye and rolled down his cheek, and he huffed a laugh at himself as he wiped it away.

"I love you," he replied, and pecked his lips before going back to Baby Paul, he reached out placed his hand on top of Daryl's, "And I love you, PJ," he said.

Daryl immediately smiled at his son's nickname, and he stroked a finger down the still screaming baby's cheek, "Little PJ," he said, and he didn't even notice the people still working below the screen.

Paul kissed his head again, and Daryl couldn't stop the tears that poured down his cheeks. 


	14. Chapter 14

Daryl looked around the room hazily, and he could feel fingers in his hair. He managed to turn his head, and he was met with the fuzzy sight of Paul sitting beside his bed. He made out Paul giving him a soft smile, and he was filled with confusion as he started to look around the unfamiliar room.

"Hey," Paul whispered, and Daryl looked at the nurse who was now smiling broadly at him and checking the drip in his arm, "Look at me," Paul repeated, seeing that Daryl was confused.

Daryl did as he was told and turned his head to look at Paul again, "Paul," he whispered, his voice slurred.

Paul smiled a little wider, "That's it, sweetheart," he said, "You fell asleep just after they took the baby from you, you're in recovery now,"

"Where's Paul?" he asked, referring to his baby as he shifted in the bed slightly and then immediately wincing at the pain in his stomach.

"He's having some tests done," It was the nurse who answered now, still smiling, "Hi, I'm Rosita. I'll be your main nurse for the majority of your stay," she told him. Daryl managed to give her a small smile, "I'm going to check you over and give you a few minutes for you to wake up some more, and then we'll take you to the room you booked in, and we'll bring the baby to you,"

Daryl nodded in understanding and reached his hand out, wanting more contact with his partner. Paul immediately took his hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it softly.

"You did so great, Daryl," Paul whispered and leaned over to kiss him deeply before pulling back to give Rosita space to work.

"I'm going to check your blood pressure, okay? Then your incision, if all looks good I'll be able to take you back to your room," Rosita told him as she placed the blood pressure cuff around his arm.

"Okay," Daryl replied, starting to feel more alert as he focused on the feeling of Paul's fingers in his hair.

 

* * *

 

Daryl felt much more comfortable in the room he and Paul had booked instead of the recovery room. The room's themselves weren't that much different, but his one just seemed less harsh. There was a large window, his own bathroom, a couch, and their personal belongings inside.

"So, Daryl," Rosita said, as Paul went through one of the bags they had brought to get Daryl's blankets out for him, "I'll go and get baby Paul in just a minute, but there's a couple of things with the C-section that I have to go over first, okay?" she said, and Daryl nodded, so she turned to Paul, "You'll want to listen too, make sure he sticks to them,"

Paul nodded and pulled the fuzzy blanket Daryl had brought and came over to the bed, throwing it over Daryl's body, "No worries," he said, and then sat down beside Daryl.

"Great," Rosita said and helped to adjust the blanket, "So, Daryl, you've just had major surgery. Anyone who gives birth needs plenty of rest, but for you, that's even more important. So, Paul, you're going to have to be picking up most of the work for the first couple of weeks. Daryl, I'm not saying you can't do anything, but you're going to be exhausted, and uncomfortable. You can't lift anything heavier than your baby, that means a laundry basket, and in reality, you can't get out of the bed too often at all. You should only be getting up to tend the baby a bit and use the toilet and shower. It takes six weeks for your body to recover from a C-section, providing there are no complications,"

"Jesus," Daryl said, "That doesn't seem possible when there's a newborn," he said, running a hand over his face.

"We'll be okay," Paul whispered and pecked Daryl's temple.

Rosita smiled and squeezed his hand, "I know, and it will be hard," She said, "Do you have a bassinet?" she asked, and Daryl nodded. It was already set up by the couch, "Great, you should keep that right by your side of the bed and keep the baby in there for part of the day, except for when you need to get a decent amount of sleep. That way, you don't have to get up to change the baby's diaper or feed him, keep a change of clothes and blankets, your own food, on the nightstand with you. That way Paul can be out cleaning or cooking,"

Daryl turned to Paul with a little smirk, "See, I told you we needed a bassinet," he said, and Paul rolled his eyes and chuckled.

Rosita laughed softly too, "As for pain, we'll keep you on medication here, but when you're discharged in at least three days, you can take Advil or Tylenol at home. Your incision was only closed with stitches so you won't need to come back to have staples removed, but you need to keep a very close eye on the operation sight for any sign of infection, we'll do that for you now, but that's up to the two of you when you're at home,"

Daryl took a deep breath, it was a lot of information to take in. He just wanted to see his baby again, he'd waited too long to meet him.

"I'll get him in just a minute," Rosita said, understanding his problem, "Now, right now you can just sip at some water, but you'll be able to eat by dinner tonight. We'll give you some time with your baby, and then Paul and I will help you take a shower and change into your own clothes. And this is completely your choice, but I recommend not having any victors for at least a few hours, tomorrow morning would be best. It just gives you some time to settle down, and bond with the baby before you're swarmed with friends and family who all want to hold him,"

"Okay," Daryl said, having understood everything that the nurse had said to him, "Can you go get Paul now?" he asked.

"Yes, I haven't even held him yet," Paul said.

Rosita nodded, and collected her clipboard, "Of course, I'll be back in a few minutes. Hit the call button, and another nurse will tend to you while I'm gone, and Paul, get him to have some water," she said, and then left the room.

Daryl closed his eyes once she left and sucked in a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked.

Daryl forced his eyes open again and met Paul's, "It's just scary, you know? We've had eight months to prepare for this… but just hearing all the instructions, god, it just makes it feel so real," he replied and wiped at the couple of tears that leaked from his eyes.

Paul cupped his jaw and gave him a soft kiss, "It's okay to be scared. I know it's going to be hard for us, but I also know that we're going to be okay. We've got our family to help us out, Aaron and Eric have cooked meals for us, and Hershel's offered to come up and stay for a few days if we need help," he reminded him.

Daryl nodded and sniffled, "I don't understand, I'm so fucking excited that he's here now, but I'm scared, and sad, and so many other things. I don't know what's wrong with me," he whispered, looking to Paul desperately.

Paul hushed him, "It's normal to feel all those things after giving birth. Your emotions are going to be all over the place, if it gets worse, we'll talk to someone before it evolves into something more serious, okay?" he said.

Daryl nodded immediately, he knew it was normal right now, but he also knew it could develop into Postnatal depression, which he didn't want.

Paul kissed his temple and stood up from the bed, he walked over to the small table, the one on roll wheels so that it could be moved as a bed table for Daryl. Paul poured to glasses of water and handed one to Daryl.

"Thank you," Daryl said and took a couple of sips of his water, "What time is it?" he asked. He had no idea how long the surgery he'd taken, and how long he'd been asleep for afterward.

Paul pulled his phone out of his pocket, "Just after one," he said, then placed the phone on the table.

Daryl nodded and had enough of his water, so he handed it to Paul to put back on the table. He turned his head to the door, waiting for Rosita to appear again with the baby.

 

* * *

  

Rosita came ten minutes later, pushing the small plastic crib and Paul was out of his chair within seconds.

"Here he is," Rosita said with a broad smile as she brought the crib to a stop by the bed, and Daryl immediately shifted so that he could look into the bed, "He's a tiny five-point-five pounds, which is small, but he's not in the danger zone. He'll be monitored to make sure he's gaining weight," she said.

"Hi sweetheart," Paul whispered as he reached the crib, placing a hand inside and stroking along baby Paul's cheek.

"He's just in a hospital diaper and swaddled the in a blanket, the two of you feel free to change him into his own clothes whenever you'd like. He can stay here in the room with you as much as you'd like, he might need to be taken for some more tests, and you shouldn't feel any shame about sending him to the nursery if you need to get some sleep," Rosita explained, "Skin to skin is what you should be doing right now, it's very good for bonding, and Daryl you can try to breastfeed if that's the way you're going, or try and give him a bottle,"

Daryl nodded and watched mesmerized as Paul leaned down to kiss the baby.

"So, I just sit down and take my shirt off?" Paul asked Rosita.

Rosita nodded, "Yep, or you since you have a button up on, you can just open the buttons. You can sit down, and I'll pass him to you," she said.

"Okay," Paul said and undid the buttons on his shirt, and then very carefully sat down on the bed beside Daryl.

Rosita removed the swaddle from the PJ and then handed him in just his diaper to Paul. Paul took him in his waiting arms and Daryl smiled as he watched Paul hold the baby to his bare chest.

"Rosita, can you help me pull my gown down so I can take him after?" Daryl asked after watching them for a few moments.

"Of course," Rosita said, and stepped around the bed. They made quick work of Daryl's gown, and Daryl settled back down on the bed, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from his son in Paul's arms, "I'll leave the two of you alone in a bit. Press the call button if you need me for anything," she said, and they both thanked her before she left the room.

"He's so beautiful," Paul whispered as he stroked a finger down the baby's cheek.

Daryl smiled, "He is," he agreed. He looked at his baby properly, he was still pink, but not as much as he first had been when he was first delivered. He was absolutely tiny, fitting comfortably into the crook of Paul's arm. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't asleep as he snuffled and wriggled a little in Paul's arms.

Paul let out a soft laugh and ran a finger over the hair on PJ's, which he had quite a lot of in a blonde color, "He's a blondie," he said.

Daryl smiled and touched his hair too, and he smiled how soft it was, "I was blonde as a baby, it started to turn brown when I was three. His will probably change too," he said.

Paul held his finger out and pressed it gently against the tiny palm of PJ's hand, and a smile immediately broke out on his face when PJ wrapped his hand around it. Paul smiled too, "Oh my god, his little fingers and toes," he whispered and ran his thumb over his toes.

PJ suddenly let out a cry, his tiny mouth spreading, and he blinked his eyes open.

"Oh, hi there," Daryl whispered, "His eyes are dark blue, kinda like mine," he said.

Paul hummed, "I read that the color their born with probably isn't their true color, that it could change in the next couple of months,"

"Me too," Daryl said, looking at the slightly squirming baby, who had only let out a couple of cries before stopping.

"Do you think he looks like either of us yet?" Paul asked as PJ looked around the room.

Daryl tilted his head a little, trying to spot any features he recognized, "He looks like he's got bigger lips. Mine are small, but yours are big and plump," he said.

Paul nodded, and placed his thumb against PJ's lips, "Yeah, I can see that," he said.

"Maybe his nose?" Daryl then said, "It looks like it could kinda be upturned, and wide at the bottom like yours,"

"Maybe," Paul replied, "So you think he's going to look like me?"

Daryl smiled, "I hope so," he whispered, "It would be so cute to have a mini you,"

Paul grinned, "I suppose it would be," he said.

They fell into silence for a few minutes as Paul continued to hold their son, and then the pair of them broke into laughter when PJ tilted his head towards Paul's chest and began mouthing at his nipple in an attempt to latch on. He managed to do so as Paul was sitting up to be able to hand him to Daryl, Paul let out a startled noise, and PJ let out a cry when nothing came out.

"I haven't got anything in there for you, PJ," Paul said, laughing.

Daryl laughed too, and held his hands out, "Come here, bub, I got lunch for you," he said, and Paul carefully transferred PJ into his arms, "Can you help me?" he asked.

"Of course, I can," Paul immediately replied, and helped Daryl settle the baby in his arms.

PJ was obviously hungry as he tilted his head and started mouth at Daryl's chest, and with Paul's help, he directed the baby's mouth to his nipple. He latched on for a second, and then pulled off again and let out a loud cry and began to squirm.

Daryl almost whimpered himself, "It's okay sweetheart," he whispered.

"Let's try again," Paul said, and Daryl nodded, attempting to keep his hold on PJ when he was squirming so much.

It took several long minutes, but they got PJ to latch on again. Daryl watched mesmerized as PJ suckled at his nipple, and Paul settled beside him too.

Paul ran his fingers through PJ's blonde hair again, "I can't believe how perfect he is, that we made something this perfect,"

"Me too," Daryl said, "I'm still kind of in shock I think, it hasn't hit me that we have a son yet,"

Paul chuckled, "I'm sure it will sink in when he wakes us up screaming all night," he asked.

Daryl laughed too, "Yes, I'm sure that will definitely help," he said.

"What does feeding him feel like?" Paul asked a few moments later.

"It kind of hurts… like an annoying kind of pain, I've tolerated much worse," he began to explain, "Him sucking just feels like tugging,"

"Must be weird," Paul said, and Daryl laughed at how fascinated he seemed to be.

He looked down at his son, and even though it was uncomfortable, he loved that he could feed his son, provide him nutrition and fill his tummy.

"A little bit," he said.

"He'll probably fall asleep when he's fed," Paul said, "So, I'll call Rosita in, and we'll get you into the shower and into some more comfortable clothes,"

Daryl hummed, "I don't want to put him down though," he replied.

Paul laughed softly, "He'll be okay, baby," he said, "Now, shall I get my phone out and let everyone know that he's arrived safely?"

Daryl nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but let's go with what Rosita says and not have visitors until tomorrow," he answered.

"Okay, sure," Paul said.

They both sat in silence as PJ continued to feed, and they couldn't tear their loving gazes away from him.

 

* * *

  

Daryl ate his blueberry muffin as he watched Paul and their son. Paul had PJ laid on the end of the bed and was standing up in front of him as he changed him into some fresh clothes. It was PJ's second day in the world, he'd had his own breakfast, and plenty of snuggles before Paul decided to dress him up all cute as Glenn, Maggie, Aaron, and Eric would be coming to meet him in a few minutes.

"His sock's gonna fall off," Daryl said around a mouthful of muffin, PJ had almost kicked one of his socks off.

Paul huffed a laugh, and ticked PJ's tummy, "Silly bub," he said and fixed the grey sock, "They're a bit too big for you, I suspect that a lot of the clothes we have for you will be too big,"

Daryl smiled, "I can't get over how damn tiny he is," he said.

Paul laughed and nodded in agreement, and then lifted the baby into his arms, "Our tiny little monkey," he said.

Daryl held his arms out, "Give him to me," he said and smiled when PJ was placed in his arms.

Paul leaned down to kiss Daryl's forehead, and then the baby's. Seconds later, there was a soft knock on the door of their room.

Paul pecked Daryl on the lips and then took the baby from Daryl again to place him in the crib where everyone would be able to see him easier.

Paul made his way over to the door and pulled it open. There was immediately a chorus of greetings and congratulations throughout the hospital room, and Daryl couldn't stop the smile on his face as his friends pulled Paul into hugs and then came over to the bed to hug and kiss his cheeks too.

"Where is he?" Maggie said, bouncing on her feet.

Paul led everyone over to the crib on the other side of the bed, "This is Paul Jaspar Rovia, everyone," he introduced them and smiled as they immediately starting cooing over the baby.

"Oh my god, he's so cute!" Glenn exclaimed as he leaned over Maggie's shoulder.

"He's perfect," Daryl said from his spot on the bed and held his arm out for Paul when he walked over and joined him.

"We all knew the pair of you would make an adorable baby," Eric laughed, "Oh, he and Gracie are going to be best friends!"

Daryl rested his head against Paul's shoulder, "They will be,"

"Can I hold him?" Maggie quickly asked, and Daryl could see that she was desperate.

Paul smiled at her, "Of course, Mags," he said.

Maggie immediately picked PJ up, and cradled him in her arms, cooing and beginning to rock him back and forth.

Aaron looked over at them then, "He's absolutely tiny," he said, "How much does he weigh?"

"Five-point-five pounds," Paul answered, "So he's a bit smaller than average, but he's not in the danger zone,"

"Oh wow," Glenn said, resting against Maggie as he cooed down at the baby, "I was ten pounds when I was born,"

They all laughed, and then Eric insisted that he hold the baby, so PJ was passed into his arms.

Paul and Daryl shared a kiss, as their friends passed around their baby. Daryl was overwhelmed with how happy he felt, and Paul wiped the tears away from his cheeks with a smile.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end to this cute fic! I hope to add Sequels one day x

Daryl winced as he sat down in the passenger seat of his and Paul’s car, he was still quite sore in his stomach. He carefully turned around in his seat and looked to the back of the car. Paul was standing with his top half inside of the car as he placed PJ into his car seat. It had been four days since the baby was born, and Daryl was finally being discharged.

PJ let out a cry, not seeming so happy with his car seat.

“He okay?” Daryl asked with a small frown.

Paul nodded and strapped PJ in, “Yeah, he’s okay. He just needs to get used to it. You can sit in the back with him if you want?” he said.

Daryl shook his head, “I’ll be too cramped back there. It’s only fifteen minutes back to our apartment,” he replied, and then yawned into the crook of his elbow.

“Alright,” Paul said, “Are you ready to see your home sweetie?” he asked, smiling as he leaned down and kissed the baby.

Daryl grinned at him, and he could have cried. His hormones were running wild still, and it didn’t take much at all.

“Come on, Paul, let’s get baby Paul home,” Daryl encouraged.

Paul kissed PJ once more and then stood straight, carefully closing the door and then climbing into the driver’s seat. He put on his seatbelt and then started up the car, “Let’s go home,” Paul said, checking his mirrors before pulling out of the hospital park.

 

* * *

 

 

Daryl was sitting in his and Paul’s bed, as his doctor had ordered. They’d been home for around two hours now, they took turns cuddling PJ before he began to whine, so Daryl fed him, and they changed his diaper before they put him down to sleep in his crib in the nursery.

Once PJ had gone down, Paul had helped Daryl have a shower, the both of them being very careful with Daryl’s incision. Paul hadn’t showered himself though, and helped Daryl get into bed before heading into the living room. He brought the bassinet into the bedroom and placed it by Daryl’s side of the bed. Paul also carefully crept into the nursery to collect items into an empty storage basket to keep on Daryl’s nightstand so that he could tend to the baby with easy access from his bed.

With not much else to do, Daryl had his laptop open in front of him, and was reading about post-C-Section while Paul was out in the living room on the phone to Hershel and Beth, letting them know all about PJ. Daryl himself was supposed to be sleeping, and he’d tried, but he’d had absolutely no luck.

He was just looking at pictures of signs of an infection when Paul opened the bedroom door. Daryl looked up and quickly smiled at the sight of his tired but adorable looking boyfriend, and the bundle of baby that he held in his muscular arms.

“Hey,” Paul said softly as he stepped over to the bed, “He’s just woken up, he’s still sleepy but he’ll get fussy soon and want to be changed and fed,”

Daryl nodded and held his arms out, and Paul placed PJ in them, “Hi, Paul,” he whispered and looked down lovingly at the sleepy baby. PJ was snuffling a little and was lazily blinking his dark blue eyes.

Paul ran a hand through Daryl’s hair and then leaned down to kiss his forehead, “Hershel and Beth are going to come up in a couple of weeks to visit him, when Beth’s finished with the couple of assignments she’s busy with right now. They’re going to stay at Glenn and Maggie’s though since they have the spare room,” Paul told him.

Daryl nodded, still looking at PJ; he’d woken up more now, seemed more alert as he looked up at him.

“They’re gonna love him,” Daryl said, smiling when PJ wrapped his finger around one of Paul’s.

“I think everyone that meets him will love him,” Paul said, cooing down at PJ for a moment and stroking a finger down PJ’s tiny arm, “He’s so fucking cute,”

Daryl laughed softly, “He is,” he said, and then he lifted his jaw, Paul meeting him halfway and pressing their lips together.

They kissed for several long moments, and then PJ let out a loud cry. Daryl pulled away from the kiss and began bouncing the baby gently, “You go have a shower, I’m okay to change him and feed him,” Daryl said.

Paul raised a brow at him, “Are you sure?” he asked, looking like he didn’t really want to leave PJ when he was upset.

Daryl nodded, and laid PJ down on the bed before reaching for the towel that Paul had given him and laying it out on the covers beneath him before laying PJ back down on it again. It was to prevent any mess getting on their bed while he changed the diaper.

“Okay, I won’t be long,” Paul said, kissing Daryl’s head again, and then PJ’s forehead before he walked into the ensuite.

Daryl watched him walk away, and then turned his attention back to his son who was crying beneath him.

“There’s no need for that, sweetheart,” Daryl said softly, stroking over PJ’s blonde hair and then beginning to take of his grey onesie that Paul had put him down in. 

He removed the onesie and placed it to the side and then began working on PJ’s full diaper. He screwed up his nose at the unpleasant scent when it was taken off, and he wrapped it up before tossing it into the small trashcan Paul had left. After using wipes and baby powder to clean PJ up, he put on a fresh diaper and dressed him before leaning back against the bed’s headboard and cradling him against his chest to start to feed.

 

* * *

 

Daryl couldn’t help the wide smile as he sat on his rocking chair in the nursery, and he watched Paul walk around the nursery, bouncing PJ and singing softly to him in an attempt to get him to sleep.

“Come on, precious boy, why won’t you go to sleep?” Paul whispered, stopping his singing for a moment.

Daryl laughed softly, “He’s just bein’ fussy,” he said as Paul started walking again.

“Grumble guts,” Paul said, pressing his lips against PJ’s blonde tufts of hair.

PJ wasn’t crying at least, just not going to sleep.

Daryl laughed softly, “Keep singing,” he said. PJ was a week old now, and he did in fact seem to be soothed by Paul’s singing.

Paul smiled at him, but continued to sing.

It took over an hour, but PJ eventually fell asleep in Daryl’s arms in the rocking chair, and Paul took him to lay him down in his crib. Once he was down, the two of them stayed in the nursery for a few minutes to make sure he was out for the next couple of hours, and not waking back up.

Daryl sighed happily as he settled on his side with his head resting against Paul’s bare chest. Paul wrapped his arms around him and kissed the top of his head.

“Do you ever think of where we’d be if you didn’t get pregnant?” Paul asked softly as one of his hands drew patterns over his bare shoulder.

Daryl smiled softly, “Did we still have sex in this scenario?” he asked.

“Your choice,”

“Well,” Daryl started, “We barely even spoke before the party, so if we didn’t have sex, we probably never would have started talking,”

“So basically, we wouldn’t be together if it wasn’t for PJ?” Paul said softly, chuckling softly.

Daryl smirked, “Yeah, I guess we owe the kid a lot, don’t we?”  

Paul hummed in agreement, “Don’t tell him that though, we’ll have to buy him endless toys,”

“We’ll probably do that anyway,” Daryl laughed.

“Well, yeah, that is true,” Paul replied, and Daryl lifted his head to kiss him. 

Two hours later, they were pulled from their sleeping embrace by the sound of their son crying through the monitor in his nursery.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are loved and inspire me to write! Xx
> 
> Tumblr - iiloulouii


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